Volume 11

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 827b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document which indicates that medical provider retains lien on any settlement proceeds insured obtains from third-party action is not valid assignment because it lacks consideration — Provider’s agreement to forfeit prepayment or immediate payment from insured is sham consideration where provider ultimately has option of collecting payment from insurer or insured

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 585b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document that includes language of assignment but also states that insured remains personally responsible for total amounts due for services, whether or not any or all of amount was or will be paid by insurer, is not valid assignment — Summary judgment entered against medical provider

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 825a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — No merit to argument that insurer which paid overdue medical bills was not required to pay medical provider’s postal costs requested in demand letter and 10% penalty because provider had not submitted valid assignment with demand letter — Document attached to demand letter that assigns “any and all benefits of insurance . . . and state statutes” is valid assignment despite insured’s agreement to pay non-covered or deductible expenses

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 843a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where contradictory documents direct insurer to pay plaintiff medical provider and physician for same medical services, and insured did not understand he was transferring rights, plaintiff does not have valid assignment or standing — Coverage — Conditions precedent — Independent medical examination — Notice of IME sent to insured’s attorney is imputed to insured — Insured’s contradictory reasons for not attending IME, asserting that he could not leave work to attend and that he forgot IME while attending to private family job, makes failure to attend unreasonable and breach of contract — Summary judgment entered in favor of insurer

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 821a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Medical provider violated section 865.09(9)(a) by bringing suit in name not registered as fictitious name in state — Assignment in favor of fictitious name not registered in state at time of execution of assignment is invalid — Fraud — Claim brought in unregistered fictitious name of medical provider but with federal tax identification number belonging to provider’s corporate parent was presented with specific intent to mislead or deceive insurer — Motion to dismiss granted with leave to amend complaint

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 914a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where assignment of benefits is unambiguous and intent of parties is clear, insurer cannot present parol evidence to create ambiguity — There is no requirement that assignment specify intent to transfer all rights to insurance contract, only right to claim for benefits for services rendered by assignee

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 705b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Trial court’s decision that provider lacks standing is affirmed where document that refers to itself as assignment in insignificant way, lacks definitive language of conveyance, suggests by allowance that provider may initiate complaint to insurance commissioner that it intends to exclude other actions such as lawsuits by provider on insured’s behalf, contemplates need for insured’s signature on claims, and indicates through provision for payment of attorney’s fees by insured that provider contemplated enforcement of agreement by action against insured rather than insurer is not assignment

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 567c

Insurance — Standing — Assignment — Vague document which fails to transfer any rights to cause of action or rights to file lawsuit as to benefits at issue

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 204a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document stating insured assigns benefits payments to medical provider clearly assigns benefits to provider and is not rendered ambiguous by additional provision directing insurer to make direct payments to provider — Taking of live testimony at summary judgment hearing, in effort to resolve alleged ambiguity in assignment, constitutes reversible error even in absence of contemporaneous objection — Order granting summary judgment in favor of insurer reversed

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 456b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document assigning amount due insured under policy is valid assignment