In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for breach of an insurance contract, the defendant appeals from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Lefkowitz, J.), entered January 7, 2002, as denied, as premature, its cross motion for partial summary judgment, and denied, without prejudice to renewal upon completion of certain disclosure, that branch of the plaintiffs’ motion which was to compel production of items two through eight of their second demand for discovery and inspection.
Ordered that the appeal from so much of the order as denied,
Ordered that the order is modified, on the law, by deleting the provisions thereof denying those branches of the cross motion which were for partial summary judgment dismissing the third cause of action to recover damages for violation of General Business Law § 349, that part of the fourth cause of action which sought to recover damages for violation of 42 USC § 1981, and the claim for punitive damages asserted in the second cause of action, and substituting therefor provisions granting those branches of the cross motion; as so modified, the order is affirmed insofar as reviewed, without costs or disbursements.
A substantial right of a party is affected (see CPLR 5701 [a] [2] [v]) by an order denying that party’s motion for relief without prejudice to renewal (see Venetucci v Venetucci,
Allstate’s cross motion for partial summary judgment should have been granted to the extent of dismissing the third cause of action alleging violation of General Business Law § 349, that part of the fourth cause of action as alleged violation of 42 USC § 1981, and the claim for punitive damages asserted in the second cause of action.
In opposition to Allstate’s prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the claims alleging violation of General Business Law § 349 and 42 USC § 1981, the plaintiffs failed to raise a triable issue of fact. In support of their claim alleging a violation of General Business Law § 349,
The plaintiffs’ claim for punitive damages asserted in the second cause of action sounding in breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing also must be dismissed. The use of familiar tort language to support a claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing does not change the cause of action to a tort claim in the absence of an underlying tort duty sufficient to support a claim for punitive damages (see New York Univ. v Continental Ins. Co., 87 NY2d 308, 316-317; Rocanova v Equitable Life Assur. Socy.,
Allstate’s remaining contention is unpreserved for appellate review. Florio, J.P., S. Miller, Crane and Mastro, JJ., concur.
