14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1059a
Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Proposal for settlement — No merit to arguments regarding ambiguity and bad faith in settlement offer — Motion for fees filed 31 days afer filing of judgment was timely where 30th day fell on Sunday — Motion for attorney’s fees and costs granted
ADVANCED SPINE & INJURY CENTER, P.A., on behalf of Carmen Arenas, Plaintiff, vs. PROGRESSIVE SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY f/k/a PROGRESSIVE AUTO PRO INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 6th Judicial Circuit, Pinellas County, Small Claims/Civil Division. Case No. 06-005161SC-048. August 31, 2007. Dorothy L. Vaccaro, Judge. Counsel: R. Stanley Gipe, Clearwater. Wendy L. Pepper, Rissman, Barrett, et al., Tampa.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO TAX ATTORNEY’S FEES AND COSTS
THIS CAUSE was before the Court upon the Defendant’s Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees and Costs. The parties having appeared, the Court heard argument and after review of the file and pleadings therein and being otherwise fully advised in the premises finds as follows:
1. That the Defendant, PROGRESSIVE SELECT INSURANCE COMPANY f/k/a PROGRESSIVE AUTO PRO INSURANCE COMPANY, met the essential requirements of F.S. 768.79 and Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.442, Proposal of Settlement.
2. That the arguments raised by the Plaintiff, ADVANCED SPINE & INJURY CENTER, P.A., on behalf of Carmen Arenas, relating to the document’s ambiguity and the offer being made in bad faith are without merit. Further,
3. That this Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees and Costs was timely filed in that the Defendant served the motion no later than 30 days after the filing of the judgment. Although the motion was ultimately filed on the 31st day, this Court finds that Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.090(a) applies whereby the last day of the period fell on a Sunday, in which event the period ran at the end of the next day. Based on the above reasons, it is
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Defendant’s Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees and Costs is hereby granted.
