13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 834a
Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Contingency risk multiplier — Where counsel for medical provider was working under contingency fee agreement, and case involved issue of pre-existing neurological condition, 1.5 multiplier is applicable — Expert witness fees awarded
NORTH PALM NEUROSURGERY, PL. as assignee of SCOTT KUNKLEMAN, Plaintiff, vs. MERCURY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County. Case No. 50 2004 CC 005988 XXXX MB, Division RF. May 26, 2006. James L. Martz, Judge. Counsel: Shannon M. Mahoney, Shannon M. Mahoney, P.A., West Palm Beach, for Plaintiff. Jeffrey W. Golovin, for Defendant.
ORDER ON ENTITLEMENT AND AMOUNT OF ATTORNEY’S FEES
THIS MATTER came before the Court on May 4, 2006 on Plaintiff’s Motion for Entitlement and Amount of Attorney’s Fees. Testimony was taken of the Plaintiff’s attorney as well as experts from both sides, in addition, Plaintiff’s exhibits #1 and #2 were reviewed and admitted as evidence, and the Court having reviewed same together with the court file and otherwise being fully advised in the premises, it is;
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant concedes that Plaintiff’s counsel is entitled to reasonable attorney fees by law. The Court next determines that Plaintiff’s counsel, Ms. Mahoney is entitled to 32.5 hours at a rate of $275.00 per hour. The Court also awards 4.4 hours at a rate of $250.00 per hour, stipulated by Defendant as appropriate, attributable to Ms. Rogalsky’s work. The Court heard testimony from Plaintiff’s counsel, Ms. Mahoney, and of Plaintiff’s expert, Glenn Siegel, regarding the attorney fees associated with the 18 months of litigation surrounding the case, including reasonableness of hours spent and application of a multiplier to the case. Mr. Siegel testified to the application of the elements outlined in Standard Guaranty Insurance Co. v. Quanstrom, 555 So.2d 828 (Fla. 1990). The Defendant provided his expert, Mr. Guzda, who conducted a line by line analysis of the time spent on the case and also refuted the application of a “lodestar” multiplier to the case sub judice. This testimony is the basis for the Court’s Order of amount of time granted on Plaintiff’s request and, in addition, the Court Orders that a 1.5 multiplier is applicable after considering the eight factors of Quanstrom. Ms. Mahoney was working under a contingency fee agreement with Plaintiff and litigated a case where the Defendant’s defense was based upon a peer review determination that the Patient’s treatment was for a pre-existing neurological condition. This case was not a typical soft tissue PIP case. This case involved neurosurgery to the patient and issues of medical expertise that were more complex than a typical soft tissue PIP case. The hourly fee requested, $275.00, was not out of line with those customarily charged in Palm Beach County for similarly complex cases. This Court was an observer of the litigation between the parties and is cognizant of the energy and effort that the Defendant put into this case. It is evident that Ms. Mahoney’s experience and diligence along with her skill and expertise was required for the Plaintiff to prevail. The Court also finds that 6 hours is an appropriate number of hours for Plaintiff’s expert at $275.00 per hour, half of which was actual court time.
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