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18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 901b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809WALK

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Declaratory judgment — Coverage — Exhaustion of PIP policy limits renders action for declaratory relief regarding appropriateness of insurer’s reduction of claim moot

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 229a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1802RIVE

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Declaratory action is appropriate vehicle for relief in PIP matter — Medical provider/assignee can bring declaratory relief action — Possibility that standard PIP action might follow declaratory action does not make dismissal of declaratory action appropriate, although it may be basis to dismiss subsequent suit — Motion to dismiss is denied

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1139a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1811CHAR

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Declaratory judgment — Demand letter — Presuit demand letter was required prior to filing declaratory judgment action requesting payment of benefits — Where insured did not serve any demand letter, court need not determine whether 2008 PIP statute’s requirement of 30-day demand letter has retroactive application — Demand letter served after filing suit does not cure defect — Insurer’s motion for summary judgment is granted

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 701b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1808GUER

Insurance — Declaratory judgments — Motion for more definite statement as to petition seeking coverage declaration is denied — Discovery — Treating physician and medical provider’s billing and records custodian are not required to appear for depositions — Insurer may depose provider’s corporate representative with most knowledge — Where insurer filed motion seeking protection from provider’s request for deposition but failed to set motion for hearing prior to not appearing for deposition, sanctions are imposed

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 956a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1810MORE

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Declaratory judgment — Insured may pursue declaratory judgment action to determine pure question of fact — However, declaratory judgment action determining insured’s right to reimbursement for unpaid medical bills is improper where no bona fide controversy exists since insured has never received bill from medical provider, provider has been administratively dissolved, and statute of limitations for any action by provider against insured or insurer has lapsed

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1203a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1811ANDE

Insurance — Costs — Appellate

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 870a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809GRAH

Insurance — Commercial general liability insurer of general contractor had duty to defend contractor in action brought by current owner of apartment project constructed by contractor and subcontractors for property damage caused by latent construction defects where complaint in underlying action gave rise to at least potential that covered property damage actually occurred during policy period, and allegations of complaint did not completely and entirely fall under any policy exclusion — Insurer’s duty to indemnify extends to work of subcontractors that resulted in covered property damage occurring after construction operations were complete unless insurer can prove that one or more policy exclusions bars coverage

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 988a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1810BOWL

Insurance — Uninsured motorist — Bad faith — Insurer’s second amended motion to dismiss complaint without prejudice granted because underlying litigation for contractual UM benefits is not concluded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1175a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1811CCAR

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Bad faith — Where there was no binding legal authority as to whether inclusion of professional license number on claim form was required at time insurer denied medical provider’s claim on that basis, there was no bad faith that would require insurer to set aside disputed amounts — Insurer is not responsible for disputed amounts after exhaustion of policy limits on other claims

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 884a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809DWIL

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Bad faith — Where there was no binding legal authority as to whether inclusion of professional license number on claim form was required at time insurer denied medical provider’s claim on that basis, there was no bad faith that would require insurer to set aside disputed amounts — Insurer is not responsible for disputed amounts after exhaustion of policy limits on other claims

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 459d

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1805URSU

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 19 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 938a

Insurance — Homeowners — Bad faith failure to settle claim — Insurer’s motion for summary judgment in bad faith suit based on handling of claim for sinkhole damage to home is denied — Conditions precedent — Appraisal award determination is legally sufficient as condition precedent to filing a bad faith claim; insureds were not required to obtain judgment that insurer breached policy — Civil remedy notice — Insurer waived right to challenge sufficiency of civil remedy notice where insurer did not challenge sufficiency of notice with Department of Financial Services — Failure to include cure amount did not make notice deficient, as statute does not require insureds to indicate amount owed — No merit to argument that in absence of specified cure amount, the cure amount was within insurer’s discretion and, therefore, payments made during cure period effected cure — Whether or not the amount paid was good faith payment of what insureds were owed is question of fact which cannot be resolved by summary judgment — No merit to arguments that claim is precluded by insureds’ failure to advise insurer of amount for which they would settle or insurer’s invocation of appraisal — Determinations of good faith and bad faith depend on circumstances and are issues of fact

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1142a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1811WILD

Insurance — Bad faith — Appraisal award merely quantifies amount of loss and does not determine insurer’s liability and, therefore, is not determination of damages and liability satisfying condition precedent to insured’s bad faith claim against insurer — Civil remedy notice — Insured’s demand for appraisal waived claim under civil remedy notice — Where issue of whether there is cause of action for common law bad faith as to first party claims is before state supreme court as certified question, insurer’s motion for summary judgment on claim for breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is denied without prejudice pending supreme court decision