The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of an action brought by a doctor who sued an insurer for reporting alleged misconduct to the New York Department of Health’s Office of Professional Misconduct. This dismissal comes on the heels of a decision by the New York Court of Appeals on a certified question as to whether Section 230(11)(b) created a private right of action for bad faith and malicious reporting. We blogged about the New York Court of Appeals decision here.
In Harr v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co., No. 18-128 (2nd Cir. Dec. 17, 2019), a doctor sued an insurer in bad faith under New York Public Health Law § 230(11)(b). The district court dismissed the complaint holding that the statute did not create a private right of action. On appeal, the circuit court certified that very question to the New York Court of Appeals because it found that case law did not resolve the question. The New York Court of Appeals held that there was no private right of action (see the prior blog).
Now back to the circuit court, the court held that the New York Court of Appeals decision fully disposed of the doctor’s appeal. The court affirmed dismissal of the doctor’s claim for substantially the same reasons as set forth by the New York Court of Appeals.
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