Geico v. AAAMG Leasing Corp., 2016 N.Y. Slip Op.. 03879 http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2016/2016_03879.htm
This was an Article 75 by Geico attempting to vacate the lower and Master arbitration award. The lower arbitrator awarded the claim with an additional award of $850 attorney fee. The master affirmed and awarded an additional, maximum allowed attorney fee of $650. In response to Geico’s Article 75, Plaintiff cross petitioned for additional attorney fees, above the $650 maximum. The Appellate Division said:
The general rule is that in proceedings involving arbitration, as in other litigation, an attorney’s fee is not recoverable unless provided for by agreement or statute (see Myron Assoc. v Obstfeld, 224 AD2d 504). Pursuant to Insurance Law § 5106(a), if a valid claim or portion of a claim for no-fault benefits is overdue, “the claimant shall also be entitled to recover his attorney’s reasonable fee, for services necessarily performed in connection with securing payment of the overdue claim, subject to [the] limitations promulgated by the superintendent in regulations.” In a proceeding for judicial review of an award by a master arbitrator, an attorney’s fee shall be fixed by the court adjudicating the matter (see Insurance Department Regulations [11 NYCRR] § 65-4.10[j][4]; Matter of Hempstead Gen. Hosp. v National Grange Mut. Ins. Co., 179 AD2d 645).
The limitations of an attorney’s fee recoverable in an appeal from a master arbitration award are set forth in Insurance Department Regulations (11 NYCRR) § 65-4.10(j). Insurance Department Regulations (11 NYCRR) § 65-4.10(j)(5) states: “No attorney shall demand, request or receive from the insurer any payment or fee in excess of the fees permitted by this subdivision for services rendered with respect to a no-fault master arbitration dispute.”
The maximum attorney’s fee for a master arbitration dispute is $65 per hour, up to a maximum fee of $650, plus an additional fee of $80 per hour for oral argument, if oral argument is requested (see Insurance Department Regulations [11 NYCRR] § 65-4.10[j][2][i], [ii]). Additional fees may be awarded “if the master arbitrator determines that the issues in dispute were of such a novel or unique nature as to require extraordinary skills or services” (Insurance Department Regulations [11 NYCRR] § 65-4.10[j][3]).
In this case, the appellant did not ask for an attorney’s fee for oral argument, and there was no finding that the issues involved were novel or unique. Accordingly, the appellant was entitled to an award of an additional attorney’s fee in the sum of $650.