Volume 10

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 368a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Discovery — Insurer is ordered to produce all invoices for services rendered and costs incurred by counsel and all time records of counsel where records will assist in reaching appropriate decision on insured’s claim for attorney’s fees and costs

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 366a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Discovery — Depositions — Motion to depose medical provider’s attorney regarding attorney’s fees denied as “overkill”

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 108a

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Calculation of reasonable attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier is appropriate where insured would have faced substantial difficulties in finding competent counsel in relevant market without possibility of multiplier because insured was at fault in accident and her own personal injury case had little or no value — Where likelihood of success was even at outset of case, multiplier of 1.5 is awarded — Expert witness fee awarded — Insured is awarded prejudgment interest on settlement, and her counsel is awarded prejudgment interest on attorney’s fees and costs

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 655a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier — Fact that exposure of miscalculation following adjuster’s deposition increased likelihood of success does not affect award of multiplier, which is based on likelihood of success at outset of case when miscalculation was obscure — Given strength of insurer’s PPO/HMO defense, likelihood of success at outset was less than 50% — Limited pool of attorney’s conversant with PPO/HMO defense along with prospect of protracted and uncompensated attorney’s fees litigation, among other factors, indicates multiplier of 2 is essential for medical provider to obtain effective counsel

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 722a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier — Where likelihood of success for medical provider was even at outset, multiplier of 1.75 should be applied — Fees of expert witness and costs awarded

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 550a

Insurance — Life — Attorney’s fees — Attorney is entitled to pre-suit fees where insurer had already unequivocally denied coverage and reiterated denial prior to attorney’s involvement — Contingency risk multiplier — Where accidental death benefit of elderly insured, who had several serious health conditions for which he took blood thinning agent and who died due to loss of blood following surgery for leg fracture, excluded coverage if death was contributed to by sickness or its medical or surgical treatment, attorneys could not mitigate risk of non-recovery, standard 40% fee contract would not adequately compensate attorneys, risk was substantial and success was unlikely at outset, and attorneys could not have predicted that claims adjuster would cause insurer to concede case by admitting that insurer had repeatedly violated fair claims standards, multiplier of 2.5 is appropriate — Appropriate market rates for attorneys determined — Time spent to obtain entitlement to attorney’s fees is compensable — Costs, including witness fee of attorney’s fees expert, awarded

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 549a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Attorney’s pre-suit time spent in direct response to insurer’s coverage denial is compensable — Contingency risk multiplier — Fees should be enhanced for achievement of excellent results where insured fully recovered PIP coverage plus interest — Where insured had pure contingency risk contract, case was not run-of-the-mill PIP case but a complete denial of coverage based on insured’s failure to list son on application, there was even chance of success at outset, and it would have been difficult if not impossible for insured to get proper legal representation without use of contingency contract and possibility of multiplier, multiplier of 2.0 is appropriate — Expert witness fees, costs, and prejudgment interest awarded

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 535a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier — Application of contingency risk multiplier is not appropriate in case — If multiplier were appropriate, multiplier of 1.0 should be applied where likelihood of success was more likely at outset of case involving UCR reductions in medical bills — Costs and expert witness fee awarded

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 462b

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Prevailing party — Costs including postage, but excluding photocopies and faxes, are awarded — Contingency risk multiplier — Where likelihood of insured prevailing was more than 50% at outset given quality of claim and counsel but case was not “run of the mill” due to insurer’s failure to give any explanation for nonpayment of bill, insurer’s after-the-fact explanation that it had negligently mishandled bill does not affect assessment of potential for success, which is measured at outset of case — Holding in Palma, allowing recovery for time spent litigating entitlement to attorney’s fees but not time spent litigating amount of fees, does not preclude consideration of prospect of extensive unremunerated attorney’s fees litigation that affects client’s ability to retain effective counsel in determining multiplier — Multiplier of 1.5 awarded — Expert witness fees awarded — Question certified

10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 452a

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Calculation of attorney’s fees and costs — $300 per hour is proper market rate for experienced board certified PIP lawyer, $250 per hour is proper hourly rate for attorney with less PIP expertise, and $90 per hour is reasonable rate for paralegal — Contingency risk multiplier — Application of multiplier is appropriate where it would have been difficult if not impossible to get proper legal representation without use of contingency contract and possibility of multiplier — Where likelihood of success for insured at outset was slightly better than 50/50, and consequences to insured of loss were high because fact that case was “battle of experts” made it expensive and insured faced owing costs to insurer if he lost, multiplier of 1.5 is awarded — Costs and expert witness fees awarded