TSAI v. United Health Care Services, Inc., Defendant–Respondent. (2023)

Orders, Supreme Court, New York County (Verna L. Saunders, J.), entered February 17, 2022, which granted defendant United Healthcare Services, Inc.’s (United) motion to dismiss the complaint, and denied plaintiff's motion for a default judgment against defendant The Mega Life and Health Insurance Company (Mega), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff's claim arising from denial of health insurance benefits under his policy with defendant Mega is barred by the six-year statute of limitations (CPLR 213[2];  Ely–Cruikshank Co. v. Bank of Montreal, 81 N.Y.2d 399, 402 [1993]).  Plaintiff, whose claim arose from a 1998 accident, conceded that a claim was submitted on his behalf by the hospital where he was treated and that he was told by the hospital that no benefits from Mega would be forthcoming.  Thus, his cause of action accrued sometime in 1998 or 1999 and not in 2019, when he discovered a 1999 request for information that Mega sent to him to complete processing of his claim (see Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co. v Flagstar Capital Mkts., 32 NY3d 139, 145 [2018];  Medical Facilities v. Pryke, 62 N.Y.2d 716, 717 [1984]).  Additionally, because Mega long ago merged with United, the court correctly denied plaintiff's motion for a default judgment, referencing its earlier order dismissing the complaint as time-barred.