14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1059c
Insurance — Personal injury protection — Complaint — Amendment — Futility — Insurer’s obligation to provider PIP log on presuit request from insured — Amendment of medical provider/assignee’s complaint to add count for declaratory relief based on insured’s right to obtain PIP log under section 627.736(4)(b) is not rendered futile by case law addressing question of provider’s right to PIP log under section 627.736(6)d) — Motion to amend granted
ADVANCED CHIROPRACTIC & REHABILITATION CENTER, a Florida Corporation (assignee of Madrid, Ricardo), Plaintiff, v. UNITED AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County. Case No. 07-11242 CC 23 (04). September 7, 2007. Eric Wm. Hendon, Judge. Counsel: Russel Lazega, Law Office of Russel Lazega, P.A., North Miami, for Plaintiff. Jim Pinkert, for Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT
THIS CAUSE came before the Court for hearing on Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend the Complaint to state a 4 count P.I.P. complaint as follows: 1) Breach of Contract (non-payment of benefits); 2) Declaratory Relief (P.I.P. log under Florida Statute s. 627.736(4)(b)); 3) Declaratory Relief (Regarding right to Policy under Florida Statute s. 627.4137); and 4) an alternative count for Breach of Contract for failure to provide a policy pursuant to Florida Statute s. 627.4127. The Defendant opposes amendment asserting that the complaint, even if amended would not be able to state a cause of action in light of the Third District Court of Appeal’s Decision in Southern Group Ind. Co. v. Humanitary Health Care, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D667a (Fla. 3rd DCA 2007).
Conclusions of Law: The court begins with the proposition that amendment of pleadings, particularly this early in the case, is granted liberally. Pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. Pro. 1.190(a) “leave of the court [to amend pleadings] shall be given freely when justice so requires.” Further, “all doubts should be resolved in favor of allowing amendment. It is the public policy of this state to freely allow amendments to pleadings so that cases may be resolved upon their merits.” Bill Williams Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. v. Haymarket Cooperative Bank, 592 So. 2d 302, 305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). As to the issue of whether amendment would be futile, the court notes that Plaintiff’s proposed amended complaint travels under a completely different statute than the statute considered in Humanitary. Specifically, the Third District Court of Appeal’s opinion in Humanitary was narrowly tailored to the question of whether a medical provider may obtain a PIP log under Florida Statute s. 627.736(6)(d) (provision addressing an insurer’s right to information). Humanitary did not address a claimant’s right to obtain this information under Florida Statute s. 627.736(4)(b) (addressing a claimant’s right to an itemized specification of the charges processed by the insurer).
Accordingly, it is hereby,
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend Complaint is GRANTED.
