New York City Buses Photo: DW labs Incorporated/Shutterstock.com

Want to bring a no-fault claim against a self-insured entity such as the New York City Transit Authority? The New York Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that you have a three-year window to do so, settling an issue that has divided lower and appellate courts and even the high court itself.

In 2001, Girtha Butler, a passenger on a New York City bus, was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought treatment from Contact Chiropractic, which Butler assigned her right to recover first-party benefits from the self-insured NYCTA.

Six years later, the medical provider sued the transit authority seeking reimbursement for alleged unpaid invoices, but the transit authority argued the suit was time-barred, relying on an Appellate Division, First Department, holding that a self-insured entity's obligation to pay out no fault claims is based in statute, and thus subject to a three-year statute of limitations.