12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1072a
Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Illegible demand letter and attached ledger do not constitute compliance with statutory pre-suit requirements
JAMES SMITH, LMT On behalf of KEVIN WHITE, Plaintiff, vs. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 6th Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, Small Claims Division. Case No. 04-006107-SC-NPC. August 18, 2005. Gerard J. O’Brien, Jr., Judge. Counsel: David A. Papa, for Plaintiff. Karen A. Barnett, Barnett & Associates, P.A., Tampa, for Defendant.
Affirmed. 13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1040a
ORDER GRANTING FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE having come before the Court on July 15, 2005 upon Defendant’s Motion for Final Summary Judgment, and the Court having reviewed the pleadings, including the Affidavit filed by Defendant and case law presented to the Court and being otherwise advised as to the issue, hereby finds as follows:
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
l. That Plaintiff’s counsel served correspondence upon Defendant on or about August 5, 2004 entitled “15 Day Demand Letter.”
2. That this 15 Day Demand Letter attached a ledger which purportedly reflected the dates of service and outstanding balances due Plaintiff.
3. That Defendant filed its copy of the 15 Day Demand Letter with the attached ledger as Exhibit A to its Motion for Summary Judgment, and State Farm’s claim representative Jennifer Haschell attested in her affidavit that this was a true and correct copy of the document received by State Farm and maintained in its file.
4. The Court has examined the documents and determined that same are illegible and as such do not constitute proper compliance with the presuit requirements of §627.736(11)(a) of the Florida Statutes.
5. That inasmuch as Plaintiff has failed to comply with the presuit requirements contained in §627.736(11)(a) of the Florida Statutes, it has failed to comply with the condition precedent to maintaining this action. Whereupon, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Final Summary Judgment be GRANTED in favor of Defendant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and Plaintiff shall go hence without day. This Court shall retain jurisdiction to address matters relating to Defendant’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees and Costs.
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