Volume 10

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 114a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Where underlying issues in PIP case have been resolved, proposal for settlement for attorney’s fees and costs only is improper — Proposal stricken

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 718a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Motion to strike insurer’s proposal for settlement inclusive of PIP benefits, interest, penalties, attorney’s fees, and costs is denied where proposal is not improper for failing to state amount attributable to attorney’s fees, and insurer is not precluded from recovering attorney’s fees

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 726b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Proposal for settlement — Small claims — Where there is no order or stipulation invoking rules of civil procedure in action for PIP benefits in small claims court, proposal for settlement is improperly filed — Motion to strike proposal granted

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 637a

Criminal law — Driving under influence — Jury instructions — Lesser included offenses — Court finds that defendant was entitled to jury instruction on lesser included offense of criminal attempt at his trial for driving under the influence, even though the state presented prima facie case of DUI , and it was uncontested that defendant was actually driving motor vehicle and that defendant had been drinking beer and had refused to submit to breath test — Motion for new trial granted

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 572a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Insured’s challenge to order awarding attorney’s fees to insurer — Trial court need not set forth written findings as to criteria used to determine reasonableness of fee — Further, appellate court cannot find that criteria were not considered since appellate record does not contain transcript or proper substitute — Although decision on merits in favor of insurer has been overturned by subsequent appellate decisions, trial judge had no discretion but to award fees to insurer

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 877d

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Contingency risk multiplier — Application of 2.0 multiplier is supported by competent substantial evidence of expert’s testimony that cases in which insurer has received written demand from lawyer but refused to pay PIP claim without stated reason are considered dangerous for successor counsel and will not be taken without the ability to petition court for contingency fee multiplier and opinion of expert and insured’s counsel that likelihood of success was 50% or less at outset — Award of attorney’s fees for time spent litigating entitlement to multiplier is consistent with intent of section 627.428(1) and within trial court’s discretion

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 120bNOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 345e

Attorney’s fees — Offer of judgment — Insurance — Personal injury protection — PIP insurer is entitled to award of attorneys’ fees pursuant to proposal for settlement/offer of judgment statute, section 768.79, regardless of fact that litigation is small claims case

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 566d

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Offer of judgment — Motion to preclude attorney’s fees and costs is granted where insured accepted insurer’s offer of judgment that made no mention of attorney’s fees, and there was no motion to strike offer prior to bringing of motion to preclude fees

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 361a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Justiciable issues — Voluntary dismissal — Insurer is entitled to section 57.105(1) attorney’s fees where insured knew or should have known that continued litigation over claim for two medical providers’ bills would be pointless several months prior to voluntary dismissal when insurer filed affidavit of one provider’s records custodian attesting to assignment which insured did not dispute signing, insurer advised that benefits had been exhausted by payment of subsequent bills, and insured learned that second provider’s bill had not been timely submitted to insurer because provider mailed it to the wrong carrier — Notice requirement of 57.105, as amended effective July 1, 2002, creates new obligation on party seeking fees which is not applicable to sanction for conduct which occurred before effective date of statute

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 373a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Justiciable issues — Where dissolved corporation rather than medical provider was named as party plaintiff in suit seeking PIP benefits for videofluoroscopy performed by chiropractor not licensed in Florida, there was complete absence of justiciable issues of fact or law at time suit was filed — Medical provider and its principals, although not named parties are individually responsible for insurer’s attorney’s fees and costs — Law firm for medical provider is liable for fees and costs for failing to act in good faith based upon client’s representations in filing suit where firm always knew identity of client, firm knew there were several different provider names in fee agreements and as named plaintiffs in PIP suits and knew correct name of provider, and firm knew or should have known that test was performed by an unlicensed doctor rather than doctor listed as provider on claim form, such that simple inquiry would have revealed that law firm named the incorrect party plaintiff in suit and that videofluoroscopy was performed in violation of Florida law and was, therefore, not eligible for payment under PIP statute