Hempstead General Hospital v. Liberty Mutual

In Hempstead General Hospital v. Liberty Mutual 134 A.D.2d 569 [2nd Dept. 1987] a healthcare provider sued an insurance carrier as assignee of twenty-nine (29) claims to recover no-fault benefits allegedly unpaid and past due. All of the assignors had received treatment at the plaintiff facility, were insured by the same defendant insurance company, and were claiming breach of the no-fault provisions of their respective policies. The Appellate Division Second Department upheld the trial court's discretionary use of joinder in Hempstead finding that there was a common question of law. The court stated that: "The Supreme Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant's request to sever the 29 claims. The joinder of the claims is proper under CPLR 1002(a) since the claims arise out of a uniform contract of insurance and involve the interpretation of the same no-fault provisions of the Insurance Law. While the claims involved relate to separate accidents and individuals, it has been held that multiple transactions by multiple plaintiffs "do not lose their character as a series of transactions because they occurred at different places and times extending through many months" (Akely v. Kinnicutt, 238 NY 466). Since the issues herein involve a common question of law, such joinder is proper and severance was appropriately denied" (Hempstead General Hospital v. Liberty Mutual supra, 134 A.D.2d at 570.)