Per Curiam
Insurer American Commerce appealed from a judgment granting provider Mollo Chiropractic summary judgment in this action by Mollo to recover no-fault benefits. The Civil Court found American failed to raise a triable issue of fact, based solely on a finding it failed to establish it issued a denial of claim form, denying a claim involving basic economic loss, in duplicate as required by 11 NYCRR §65-3.8(c). While American alleged it mailed a denial form based on a lack of medical necessity claim, it failed to allege it enclosed two copies of the denial in the same envelope. Thus, the civil court found American’s defense was precluded as it was not preserved in proper duplicate copies of the denial form submitted to Mollo. Yet, the panel stated Mollo did not claim the information contained in the prescribed denial form was insufficient, or that it was deprived of prompt notice of the reasons for the denial. It stated it was not of the opinion that a failure to send a denial in duplicate should, alone, be considered a fatal error preventing an insurer from being able to raise an otherwise meritorious, but precludable defense. Also, the panel did not see any prejudice to a claimant if it did not receive a duplicate copy, reversing the judgment.
