16 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 305b
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 164DAVIS
Insurance — Personal injury protection — There is no legal duty presuit for insurer to provide insured or its assignee with copies of PIP policy, declarations page or PIP log
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant(s), vs. FLORIDA EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS, KANG AND ASSOCIATES, MD, PA., as Assignee of Robert Davis, Appellee(s). Circuit Court, 18th Judicial Circuit (Appellate) in and for Seminole County. Case No. 06-51 AP. L.C. Case No. 04-SC-2746. February 6, 2009. Appeal from County Court, Seminole County, Honorable John R. Sloop. Counsel: Kenneth P. Hazouri, deBeaubien, Knight, Simmons, Mantzaris & Neal, LLP, Orlando, for Appellant. Kevin B. Weiss, for Appellee.
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
(DICKEY, A., J.) On June 17, 2008, this court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of Florida Emergency Physicians as to Count Two of its complaint concerning entitlement to a copy of the declarations page and policy relying on New Hampshire Indemnity Company v. Royal Metro Ambulance a/a/o William Zaniboni, 13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 573 (Fla. 18th Jud. Cir., November 18, 2005) cert. denied (Fla. 5th DCA Case No. 5D-05-4331). State Farm’s timely motion for rehearing followed.
The history of this case in this court began with this court’s opinion of March 13, 2007, affirming a summary judgment in favor of Florida Emergency Physicians (FEP). That opinion was quashed by the District Court of Appeal citing Geico General Ins. Co. v. Fla. Physicians, 972 So.2d 966 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) [33 Fla. L. Weekly D35b] and Southern Group Indem., Inc. v. Humanitary Health Care, Inc., 975 So.2d 1247 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2008) [33 Fla. L. Weekly D752a] and remanded to this court. See State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Florida Emergency Physicians, etc., 978 So.2d 197 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) [33 Fla. L. Weekly D565a]. Because this court’s order focused upon the PIP payout log, the District Court of Appeals’ remand was clarified in an order of March 28, 2008, directing this court to consider whether State Farm was required to provide copies of the insured’s policy and declarations page to FEP, a matter which was not considered by the court of appeal.
While this court has been considering the motion for rehearing the District Court of Appeal has settled all issues in controversy in this case contrary to FEP. In its opinion in Progressive American Insurance Company v. Rural/Metro Corporation of Florida, 33 Fla. L. Weekly D2649 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008), the court found that there is no legal duty presuit for an insurance company to provide an insured or its assignee copies of the PIP Policy and Declarations Page and reiterated its holding in this case that there is no right to a presuit PIP log. The court once again did not reverse the Zaniboni decision but rather quoted in that case the language that nothing in the Florida Statutes requires even the creation of, much less a legal duty to produce, a PIP log. The rest of the Zaniboni decision which grants those rights independently of the statute has by implication been overturned by the language and holding in Progressive American, and this court finds that other than the quoted language therein that the Zaniboni opinion is no longer viable law.
For the reasons expressed herein, the Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing is granted, this court’s opinion of June 17, 2008, is hereby withdrawn, and this opinion is substituted therefore. This cause is remanded to the county court for further proceedings consistent herewith.
