27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 384a
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2704CAMPInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Owner of vehicle for which security was required by law — Registration and security was not required for vehicle owned by claimant/passenger where claimant did not operate vehicle on roads of state prior to accident at issue — Claimant was covered under insured’s PIP policy
MONUMENT 9A IMAGING & DIAGNOSTIC CENTER, as assignee of Avion Campbell, Plaintiff, v. OMNI INDEMNITY COMPANY, Defendant. County Court, 4th Judicial Circuit (Small Claims) in and for Duval County. Case No. 16-2017-SC-003991, Division CC-G. May 15, 2019. Scott F. Mitchell, Judge. Counsel: Ashley-Britt Hansen, Law Office of D. Scott Craig, LLC, Jacksonville, for Plaintiff. William Cassidy, Conroy Simberg, for Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’SMOTION FOR SUMMARY DISPOSITION ANDDENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FORFINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
THIS CAUSE came to be heard upon Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Disposition and Defendant’s Motion for Final Summary Judgment. Both parties were represented by counsel. The Court, having heard arguments of the parties,
ORDERED and ADJUDGED that:
1. On December 25, 2016, Plaintiff’s patient, Mr. Avion Campbell, was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which he sustained injuries and required medical treatment. On January 13, 2017, Mr. Campbell was administered an MRI of his cervical spine by Plaintiff in order to diagnose his related injuries.
2. Plaintiff timely billed Defendant for the services rendered to Mr. Campbell in accordance with the requirements of the Florida No-Fault Law and under a policy of insurance from Defendant to Avery Jacobs, that provided No-Fault benefits. Defendant denied payment to Plaintiff for all of its services.
3. Mr. Campbell was a passenger in the motor vehicle accident. At the time of the motor vehicle accident Mr. Campbell was the owner of a 2000 Pontiac Grand AM (hereinafter referred to as “the Pontiac”).
4. During the hearing, the Parties agreed Mr. Campbell testified via affidavit and deposition that at the time of the motor vehicle accident, the Pontiac had not been driven for thirteen (13) months and remained parked at his grandmother’s residence. The Pontiac was first removed from Mr. Campbell’s grandmother’s residence at the end of November 2017.
5. Plaintiff testified that when the Pontiac was removed, it could not be driven, and had to be towed to a mechanic for extensive repairs. Defendant’s Counsel had no facts to dispute this assertion. Therefore, there is no dispute that Mr. Campbell’s motor vehicle had not been driven for at least eleven (11) months prior to the December 25, 2016 motor vehicle accident at issue in this case.
6. Florida mandates that certain motor vehicles be secured for Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Benefits, as required by Florida Statute §627.733(1) which states:
Every owner or registrant of a motor vehicle . . . required to be registered and licensed in this state shall maintain security . . . in effect continuously throughout the registration or licensing period.
The requirement only applies to motor vehicles required to be registered and licensed during the registration period, not to any owned motor vehicle.
7. Florida Statute 320.02(1) (1983) requires that any motor vehicle that meets F.S. §627.733(1) and is being driven on the roads of the State of Florida shall be registered. The Legislature amended F.S. §320.02(1) materially and substantially in 1983. The change was of great significance because of the deletion of the language “maintained in this state.”
8. Florida Statute §320.02(1) (1983) only requires registration for vehicles “operated or driven upon the highways of this state”. There is no longer a requirement a vehicle be registered based only on its being maintained in an operable condition, unless it is driven on the roads of the state of Florida. The language of Florida Statute §320.02(1) (1979), prior to the 1983 amendment was as follows:
Every owner, or person in charge, of a motor vehicle which shall be operated or driven upon the highways of the state, or which shall be maintained in this state, shall, for each such vehicle so owned, cause to be filed by mail or otherwise . . . a certified application for registration of same.
9. Florida Statute §320.02(1) currently reads as follows:
. . . every owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle that is operated or driven on the roads of this state shall register the vehicle in this state. . . A registration is not required for any motor vehicle that is not operated on the roads of this state during the registration period.
10. The underlying issue regarding whether insurance is required is not based on how a vehicle is titled, the issue is whether the vehicle is being driven or operated on the roads of the State of Florida. Quanstrom v. Standard Guaranty Ins. Co., 504 So. 2d 1295 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987).
11. The evidence presented shows there was no dispute of material fact that Plaintiff did not operate the Pontiac on the roads of the state of Florida prior to the motor vehicle accident.
12. Given this, the Court finds that under the plain language of Florida Statute §320.02(1), a registration was not required for the Pontiac as of the date of the accident as it was not being driven on the roads of the state of Florida during the registration period; and therefore, no security was required by Florida Statute §627.733. The Court finds that Mr. Campbell was covered under Avery Jacobs’ policy of insurance.
13. Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED and Defendant’s Motion is DENIED.
14. This Court retains jurisdiction on the issues of attorneys’ fees and costs.
