Volume 11

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1098b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document irrevocably assigning rights under policy is valid assignment — Claim form — Countersignature — Insured is not required to countersign HCFA forms as condition precedent to insurer paying assigned claim — HCFA form constitutes valid notice of loss — Coverage — Medical expenses — Magnetic resonance imaging — Statute does not invalidate MRI bill where amount of charge exceeds MRI fee schedule, but payment of PIP benefits for bill is limited to fee schedule amount — Medical provider is entitled to summary disposition where unrefuted evidence indicates that insured was involved in automobile accident, insured was covered by policy which included PIP benefits at time of accident, MRI was reasonable and necessary diagnostic test related to injuries sustained by insured in accident, bill for MRI was timely submitted to insurer within 30 days of treatment, and insurer failed to make any payment of PIP benefits in response to MRI bill — Reasonable, related, and necessary treatment — Evidence — Affidavit of insurer’s medical expert is insufficient to counter provider’s evidence of reasonableness, relatedness, and necessity of treatment, where expert is not licensed under same chapter as treating chiropractor, affidavit does not indicate that expert meets requirement of being in active practice unless physically disabled, affidavit was not filed until day of summary disposition hearing, and affidavit alters insurer’s previous position that only basis for denial of MRI bill was excessiveness of bill

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 665a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document that states it is direct assignment of rights and benefits under policy and lists rights assigned, including right to initiate litigation, is valid assignment — Fact that assignment is not dated does not invalidate it because by being attached to complaint assignment by definition predates filing of complaint

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 645c

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Document that irrevocably assigns to provider any benefits under any policy of insurance, indemnity agreement or other collateral source is assignment, not mere direction to pay

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 624c

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where document uses word “assignment” three times, and it can be inferred from direction to pay medical benefits directly to provider that insured and provider intended that insured knowingly and intentionally sign an agreement conferring on provider insured’s right to receive payment of benefits owed to insured under policy, document is valid assignment and trial court erred in dismissing provider’s PIP suit for lack of standing

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 50b

Insurance — Document which contained the word “Assignment” in title and body but which failed to contain any language indicating that insured was assigning to provider “any and all causes of action” available to insured pursuant to insured’s PIP policy did not qualify as valid and legal assignment of benefits — Providers action dismissed for lack of standing

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 46a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Assignment — Validity

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 703a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Unincorporated medical provider — No error in denying insurer leave to amend answer to include affirmative defense that provider/assignee lacks capacity to enter valid assignment or sue as entity because it is not corporation where amendment would be futile because unincorporated associations may sue and be sued as entities pursuant to Florida’s Uniform Partnership Act, and therefore, demonstration of provider’s absence of incorporation does not show conclusively that provider could not contract or sue as an entity — Summary judgment — Although unsworn and unauthenticated documents such as document on which trial court based summary judgment are generally inadmissible and cannot form basis for grant of summary judgment, insurer waived issue for purposes of appeal by failing to object or in any way raise issue in trial court

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 940a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Revocation — Insured’s action against insurer — Where assignment by its express terms was irrevocable unless subsequent revocation was in writing, there was no written revocation of assignment prior to insured filing suit, and assignee’s oral relinquishment did not transfer back right to bring suit, insured did not have standing to bring action when complaint was filed — Summary judgment granted in favor of insurer

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1008a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Where insured assigned benefits to medical provider, clinic filed suit against insurer as assignee or third party beneficiary, insurer filed answer asserting that clinic lacked standing, and provider subsequently reassigned benefits to clinic, clinic’s motion to amend complaint to substitute party is denied as attempt to improperly substitute party and avoid pre-suit requirements of PIP statute

11 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 756b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Reassignment — Validity — Where insured assigned benefits to provider, and provider subsequently reassigned benefits to insured, insured has standing to bring suit against insurer — Reassignment of benefits was not invalid for absence of consideration