25 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 758a
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2508ANDEInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Sanctions — Court awards attorney’s fees as sanction for insurer’s failure to timely file court-ordered response to medical provider’s motion for attorney’s fees and statement of attorney time and timely respond to request for statement of insurer’s hours billed, necessitating filing of two motions
A1 IMAGING CENTERS, LLC (a/a/o Anderson, Madison), Plaintiff, v. USAA CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 17th Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County. Case No. COCE-14-7442 (53). October 30, 2017. Robert W. Lee, Judge. Counsel: Robert Goldman, Florida advocates, Dania Beach, for Plaintiff. O. Oliver Wragg, Dutton Law Group, for Defendant.
ORDER AWARDING SANCTIONS AGAINST DEFENDANT
THIS CAUSE having come before the Court on October 27, 2017, upon (1) Plaintiff’s Motion to Enforce Court Order Preliminary to Hearing on Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees and Costs; and (2) Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Statement of Hours Billed and Motion for Sanctions, and the Court having considered the motions, having heard argument of counsel and being otherwise fully advised, it is hereupon ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions is GRANTED, for the following reasons:
On February 21, 2017, Plaintiff served its statement of attorney’s time which detailed the tasks performed, time spent on each task, and the hourly rate. On March 8, 2017, this Court entered an Order Preliminary to Hearing on Plaintiff’s Motion to Tax Attorney’s Fees and Costs (“Order Preliminary to Fee Hearing”), paragraph 2 of which required that within thirty (30) days from the date of the order, counsel for Defendant was to “insure that its expert responds in writing to, and files with the Court, each item of cost and each request for attorney’s fees, stating whether expert agrees to said item and request or objects thereto.” Accordingly, the deadline for Defendant to provide its written response to each item of cost and each request for attorney’s fees, stating whether Defendant’s expert agreed or objects thereto, was April 7, 2017.
When Defendant failed to provide the itemized response to Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees and failed to move for an extension of time to comply with the Order Preliminary to Fee Hearing, on April 21, 2017 Plaintiff filed its motion to enforce the Order Preliminary to Fee Hearing, requesting an award of sanctions. Defendant did not serve its itemized response as required by paragraph 2 of the Order Preliminary to Fee Hearing until October 12, 2017, at which time the response was over six (6) months late.
Plaintiff had served its Request for Statement of Hours Billed on August 9, 2017. When Defendant failed to respond to that request, Plaintiff served its Motion to Compel Statement of Hours Billed and Motion for Sanctions on September 21, 2017. Defendant provided its trial level Attorney Fees and Costs Timesheet on September 25, 2017 and its appellate level Attorney Fees and Costs Timesheet on October 19, 2017.
As a result of the Defendant’s failure to timely comply with the Order Preliminary to Fee Hearing and failure to timely respond to Plaintiff’s Request for Statement of Hours Billed, necessitating the filing of two (2) motions, the Court awards sanctions in favor of the Plaintiff in the amount of $1,400.00, representing four (4) hours of time at $350.00 per hour, to be paid by Defendant within thirty (30) days from the date of the hearing.
