Judge Fred Hirsh
Insurer Allstate moved to strike the notice of trial and certificate of readiness arguing discovery was incomplete. Dr. Perez owned several medical facilities and Allstate began an investigation into their operation after receiving numerous no-fault claims from the facilities. Allstate asserted it requested copies of management agreements between Perez's medical facilities and management company, claiming it was entitled to discovery of these documents in connection with a Mallela defense. Provider Huntington Medical Plaza objected to producing the requested material asserting the demands were overbroad and irrelevant. It claimed Allstate's request was nothing more than a "fishing expedition," and the discovery was unrelated to the real issues in this case that involved denials of claims on various grounds. The court stated if the management company was actually operating Huntington and Perez was providing his license to Huntington, then Huntington would be subject to a Mallela defense and it would not be eligible to receive no-fault payments for the claim. Yet, it noted it could not determine if the demanded material was subject to discovery, granting Allstate's motion to the extent Huntington was required to produce the documents for an in-camera inspection.
