IN RE: COUNTRY–WIDE INSURANCE COMPANY (2023)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Eileen A. Rakower, J.), entered on October 5, 2021, which denied respondent WJW Medical Products, Inc.’s motion for attorney's fees in connection with a no-fault insurance arbitration award, unanimously reversed, on the law, with costs, to grant the motion except insofar as it seeks interest accruing during WJW's delay in filing a notice of entry, and the matter remanded to Supreme Court for a recalculation of fees in accordance with 11 NYCRR 65–4.6(d).

Supreme Court should not have denied WJW's motion for attorney's fees in its entirety (see Insurance Law § 5106[a];  11 NYCRR 65–4.6[d]).  The court was mistaken in its belief that WJW had not previously sought attorney's fees under 11 NYCRR 65–4.6(d), which WJW had sought in its cross-petition to confirm the arbitration award., The February 11, 2021 order, which confirmed the arbitration award, granted the application for those fees.

Supreme Court appropriately declined to award interest, however, for the roughly three-month period from February 11, 2021, to May 12, 2021.  WJW's roughly three months of delay in filing a notice of entry went far beyond the 10 days that the February 11, 2021 confirmation order had allotted for the filing.  WJW fails to explain why this delay should be considered reasonable (see 11 NYCRR 65–3.9[d]).

We note that WJW is not entitled to attorney's fees for prosecuting this appeal given that a party is not entitled to “fees on fees” when applying for and substantiating attorney's fees (see Matter of GEICO Ins. Co. v. AAAMG Leasing Corp., 148 A.D.3d 703, 705–706, 51 N.Y.S.3d 93 [2d Dept. 2017]).

We have considered WJW's remaining contentions and find them unavailing.