Key Takeaway
When medical necessity motions are denied, providers can use EBT orders to compel chiropractor depositions in no-fault cases under CPLR 3101(a) discovery rules.
Great Health Care Chiropractic, P.C. v Interboro Ins. Co., 2013 NY Slip Op 51737(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2013)
My case. Let’ s see how many more appeals I have to perfect on this issue. My fear is this going to be like the acupuncture fee schedule, which always spawns an appeal despite the law being settled.
“In this action by a provider to recover assigned first-party no-fault benefits, defendant moved for, among other things, summary judgment dismissing the complaint or, in the alternative, to compel plaintiff to produce its treating chiropractor for a deposition. Plaintiff cross-moved for summary judgment. Defendant appeals, as limited by the brief, from so much of an order of the Civil Court as denied the branch of defendant’s motion seeking to compel plaintiff to produce its treating chiropractor for a deposition.”
“CPLR 3101 (a) provides for “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action, regardless of the burden of proof.” Parties to an action are entitled to reasonable discovery “of any facts bearing on the controversy which will assist preparation for trial by sharpening the issues and reducing delay and prolixity” (Allen v Crowell-Collier Publ. Co., 21 NY2d 403, 406 ; see Traditional Acupuncture, P.C. v State Farm Ins. Co., 24 Misc 3d 129, 2009 NY Slip Op 51335). As defendant is defending this action on the ground, among others, that the services rendered lacked medical necessity, the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed, and the branch of defendant’s motion seeking to compel plaintiff to produce its treating chiropractor for a deposition is granted.”
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- A plain disaster
- New York No-Fault Insurance Law
Legal Update (February 2026): Since this 2013 decision, discovery procedures under CPLR 3101 and examination before trial protocols in no-fault cases may have been modified through regulatory amendments or court rule changes. Practitioners should verify current provisions regarding compelling provider depositions and disclosure requirements, as procedural standards and discovery scope limitations in no-fault litigation have evolved over the past decade.
