28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 229a
Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2803HUFF
Insurance — Complaint — Failure to attach complete policy, including declarations page, to amended complaint seeking declaration that policy is void ab initio requires dismissal of amended complaint — Insurer’s request for entry of final default judgments against some codefendants is denied where other codefendants are actively defending action
DIRECT GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. KELLEY A. HUFF, KRISTIN A. HUFF, ANDREW J. HAGERTY, GULFCOAST SPINE INSTITUTE D/B/A BIOSPINE INSTITUTE, ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL INC., D/B/A ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL NORTH, PHYSICIANS GROUP OF SARASOTA, LLC F/K/A PHYSICIANS GROUP, LLC, TAMPA BAY IMAGING, LLC, STERN DRAKE ISBELL & ASSOCIATES, PA, d/b/a SDI RADIOLOGY, EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSOCIATES OF TAMPA BAY, LLC, SPINE AND ORTHOPAEDICS SPECIALISTS, PLLC, d/b/a TRINITY SPINE CENTER, Defendants. County Court, 6th Judicial Circuit in and for Pasco County. Case No. 2019-CA-2715. April 1, 2020. Susan G. Barthle, Judge. Counsel: Robert K. Savage, Savage Villoch Law, PLLC, Tampa, for Plaintiff. K. Douglas Walker, Bradford Cederberg, P.A., Orlando, for Defendant.
ORDER
THIS MATTER having come before this Honorable Court on April 1, 2020, and this Honorable Court having heard arguments of counsel and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, it is hereby,
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
1. Plaintiff did not attach the policy’s Declarations Page to the Amended Complaint, despite Exhibit A to the Amended Complaint stating, “This Policy With The Declarations Page . . . Complete the Policy.” Plaintiff, therefore, did not attach the complete policy to its Amended Complaint for Declaratory Relief.
2. For those reasons, Defendant, Emergency Medical Associates of Tampa Bay, LLC’s, Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint for Declaratory Relief is GRANTED.
3. Plaintiff shall have thirty (30) days from the date of this order to file a Second Amended Complaint. Defendants shall have twenty (20) days from the filing of Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint for which to respond to Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint.
4. With regards to Plaintiff’s request for Entry of Final Default Judgments: Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint for Declaratory Relief requests this Court declare the subject insurance policy “void ab initio.” Entering Final Default Judgments against some co-Defendants in this instance, while other co-Defendants are actively defending this action would be improper at this time. Under these circumstances, entry of Final Default Judgments against the defaulting co-Defendants would severely prejudice the non-defaulting co-Defendants who are actively defending this action, See Kotlyar v. Metro. Cas. Ins. Co., 192 So. 3d 562, 567 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016) [41 Fla. L. Weekly D1182a] (holding a plaintiff is not “always entitled to a default judgment against a defaulting defendant prior to the adjudication of the merits against non-defaulting co-defendants,” and “the trial court should evaluate whether the entry of the default judgment could lead to an absurd, unjust, or logically inconsistent result”). Accordingly, this Court is not inclined to enter a Final Default Judgment against any of the defaulting co-Defendants at this time.
5. For those reasons, Defendant’s Motion to Stay Entry of Final Judgments is GRANTED; and Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Final Default Judgment is DENIED.
