15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 157a
Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Amount — Contingency risk multiplier — Application of multiplier is not warranted where denial of benefits on ground that traffic crash report did not list insured as passenger or driver did not involve novel or complex issue and required no significant legal expertise — Costs, expert witness fees and prejudgment interest awarded
TAMPA PERSONAL INJURY CLINIC, INC., as assignee of Angela Garcia, Plaintiff, vs. NATIONAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 13th Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County. Case No. 06-30420, Division L. October 29, 2007. Joelle A. Ober, Judge. Counsel: Timothy Patrick, David Lipscomb and Joseph Nicholas, Nicholas, Lipscomb & Patrick, P.A., Tampa, for Plaintiff. Kristan Smith Coad, Conroy, Simberg, Ganon, Krevans, Abel, Lurvey, Morrow & Schefer, P.A., Tampa.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO TAX ATTORNEY’S FEES, LEGAL ASSISTANT’S FEES AND COSTS
THIS MATTER came before the Court on October 4, 2007, upon the Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees, Legal Assistant’s Fees and Costs. The Court, having considered the Motion, together with the entire court file and record, having considered the sworn testimony of Plaintiff’s counsel and the parties’ expert witnesses, and having heard argument of counsel, ORDERS as follows:
1. The Plaintiff hired, on a contingent fee basis, Nicholas, Lipscomb & Patrick, P. A. to prosecute its PIP claim. The parties, after the mediation conference, settled the case. The Plaintiff seeks attorney’s fees, pursuant to section 627.428, Florida Statutes (2007).
2. The Plaintiff’s attorneys are entitled to a reasonable attorney’s fee and costs incurred in the prosecution of the present case. Florida Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Rowe, 472 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1985). The parties stipulated that the following hours that the counsel expended for prosecution of the present case are reasonable.
Timothy Patrick: 8.2 hours
David Lipscomb and Joseph Nicholas: 30.4 hours
3. The Court finds that a reasonable hourly rate for Joseph Nicholas and David Lipscomb shall be $250.00, and a reasonable hourly rate for Timothy Patrick is $325.00, taking into the consideration of the counsel’s experience, certifications and reputation within the legal community.
The lodestar amount of attorney’s fees is calculated as follows: hourly rate of $325 for Timothy Patrick x 8.2 hours, and hourly rate of $250 for Joseph Nicholas, and David W. Lipscomb, x 30.4 hours. Accordingly, the total amount of attorney’s fees that the Plaintiff is entitled to recover from the Defendant is $10,265.00.
4. The Plaintiff’s counsel requests the Court to apply a 1.5 contingent multiplier, given, among other reasons, the uncertainty of outcome at the outset of the case and the Plaintiff’s difficulty in retaining competent counsel to handle this type of claim. “When an attorney is hired on a contingent fee basis, the application of a multiplier in determining statutorily granted attorney’s fees is not automatic. Standard Guaranty Ins. Co. v. Quanstrom, 555 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 1990).
In Progressive Express Insurance Co. v. Schultz, 948 So. 2d 1027 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007), the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees at a rate of $400 per hour with a 2.5 multiplier was reversed. The court reasoned that there was no evidence that the insured had any difficulty in obtaining competent counsel to pursue the PIP claim, and therefore, the application of the multiplier resulted in a fee of $1,000 an hour, was manifestly unjust.
5. After considering the evidence submitted by the parties, and applying the factors set forth in Quanstrom, the Court has determined that the application of a contingency risk multiplier is not warranted. The record reflects that the Defendant refused to pay the PIP policy benefits on the ground that the traffic crash report failed to list the insured as either a passenger or a driver. The issue is neither novel nor complex, and no significant legal expertise is required to complete the representation.
6. Regarding the costs, the Plaintiff’s counsel is entitled to recover reasonable costs, in the amount of $534.60.
7. As to the Plaintiff’s expert witness fees, the Court finds that the Plaintiff is entitled to recover the expert witness fees of 7.7 hours at a reasonable hourly rate of $350.00, in the amount of $2,695.00.
8. Total attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and costs equal $13,494.60.
9. The Plaintiff is entitled to recover prejudgment interest. Prejudgment interest on the award of attorney’s fees shall accrue at an interest rate of 11 percent per annum, from the date of settlement, May 16, 2007, through the date of the Court’s fee ruling, pursuant to Quality Engineered Installation, Inc. v. Higley South, Inc., 670 So. 2d 929, 931 (Fla. 1996).
It is therefore ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees is hereby GRANTED. The Plaintiff, TAMPA PERSONAL INJURY CLINIC, INC., shall recover from the Defendant, NATIONAL SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, the sum of $13,494.60, plus prejudgment interest from the date of settlement through October 4, 2007.
