Florida's Recent News

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 334a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1804MELK

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Appellate — Section 627.428(1) authorizes award of appellate attorney’s fees to prevailing insured irrespective of non-prevailing insurer’s good faith reliance on since-altered case law in disputing claim

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 45a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1801LEWI

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Trial court erred in entering final judgment entitling medical provider to appellate attorney’s fees for defense of certiorari challenge to discovery order prior to prevailing on merits of case

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1040a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1810AHER

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Appellate — Amount — Hours requested by attorney are reduced where much of time charged was duplicative of time spent by lead appellate counsel, and case was county court case seeking less than $15,000 in damages — Expert witness fee and prejudgment interest are awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 903b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809BITT

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Amount

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 899b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809TREJ

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Declaratory judgment — Attorney’s fees, costs, expert witness fees and interest awarded to prevailing medical provider

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 898a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809SAIN

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Amount

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 399a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1804CHAV

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Expert witness fees and prejudgment interest awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 603a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1807HAED

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Attorney travel time over and above what local attorney would charge is not warranted in absence of proof that competent local attorney could not be found — Costs and expert witness fees awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 206b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1802DWOO

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 19 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 402a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Contingency risk multiplier — Establishing that a plaintiff would have difficulty finding competent counsel without possibility of multiplier does not require testimony from plaintiff demonstrating actual difficulties confronted in finding counsel — Where use of multiplier was necessary to obtain competent counsel in case, amount in controversy was small and results obtained were excellent, fee arrangement between medical provider and counsel was pure contingency fee agreement, provider’s chances of success at outset were 50%, and fact that insurer sought to set precedent on interpretation of disclosure and acknowledgment form provisions of PIP statute represented increased risk to counsel, multiplier of 2.0 is appropriate — Costs, expert witness fees, and prejudgment interest are awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 201a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1802WOOD

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Contingency risk multiplier — Where use of multiplier was necessary to obtain competent counsel in case, medical provider’s counsel could not mitigate risk of nonpayment, amount in controversy was small and results obtained were excellent, contingency fee agreement between provider and its counsel allows for multiplier, and provider’s chances of success at outset were 50%, multiplier of 1.5 is appropriate — Costs, expert witness fees, and prejudgment interest are awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1192d

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1811BENN

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Contingency risk multiplier — Although counsel was not able to mitigate risk of non payment in any way, where relevant market did not require contingency risk multiplier to obtain competent counsel, multiplier is not applicable — Expert witness fees and costs awarded

18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1020a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1809CHES

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Contingency risk multiplier of 1.5 is appropriate where attorney for medical provider was not able to mitigate risk of nonpayment, and provider’s likelihood of success was more likely than not from outset — No merit to argument that multiplier is not appropriate because provider did not have difficulty obtaining counsel in this case due to existing relationship with attorney — Expert witness fee, costs and prejudgment interest awarded