16 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 306b
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 164BARCU
Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier — No error in refusing to award 2.0 multiplier
DIANA L. BARCUS, Appellant, vs. STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. Circuit Court, 18th Judicial Circuit (Appellate) in and for Seminole County. Case No. 08-41-AP. L.C. Case No. 00-OC-2529-20. February 17, 2009. Appeal from the County Court For Seminole County, Donald L. Marblestone, County Judge. Counsel: Charles J. Kane. Joseph R. Littman; and Steven L. Barcus, for Appellant. Kenneth Hazouri, deBeaubien, Knight, Simmons, Mantzaris & Neal, LLP, for Appellee.
(SIMMONS, CLAYTON, Circuit Judge.) This appeal is from a Final Judgment For Fees and Costs dated January 16, 2008. As the County Judge noted in his judgment, “[t]o paraphrase the Beetles, this case has taken a long and winding road.”
This is a PIP case1 in which the County Court awarded Attorney Joseph Littman $31,800 in attorneys fees plus $2,242.55 in prejudgment interest, and awarded his expert attorney witness, V. Rand Saltsgaver, who testified he spent 14.5 hours preparing for the fee hearing at $400 per hour, an expert witness fee of $5,800.00. These two provisions of the Final Judgment were not disputed by appellant and were not appealed. What was appealed was the County Court’s refusal to award attorney Littman a 2.0 attorney fee multiplier. In support of its decision, the County Court cited Progressive Express Ins. Co. v. Schultz, 948 So.2d 1027 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007).
The County Court was eminently correct in refusing to award Littman a 2.0 attorney fee multiplier. Consequently, the Final Judgment appealed from is
AFFIRMED.
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1Plaintiff/appellant’s claim in this PIP case was for $1,250.00 for unpaid medical benefits under her policy.
