Volume 12

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1181a

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Motion — Ore tenus motion for attorney’s fees is denied where no motion was filed within 30 days after filing of judgment — Motion to tax costs filed prior to final judgment is denied as untimely

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 159a

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Justiciable issues — Insurer is entitled to attorney’s fees where benefits were exhausted prior to institution of suit

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 158a

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 175b

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Justiciable issues — Where benefits were exhausted more than two years before suit was filed, provider was notified at least twice that benefits were exhausted, and defense of exhaustion of benefits was not waived by insurer’s failure to raise defense in responsive pleading, medical provider knew or should have known that suit was not supported by material facts necessary to establish claim or by application of existing law to facts — Insurer’s motion to determine entitlement to award of attorney’s fees granted

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 390b

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Justiciable issues — Motion for attorney’s fees following voluntary dismissal of suit based on premature demand letter — Where courts differ on whether filing PIP suit based on premature demand letter requires dismissal or abatement, issue is justiciable, and motion for fees is denied

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 276a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Justiciable issues — Prohibition — Petition for writ of prohibition barring trial court from going forward with orders to show cause why medical provider and its counsel should not be assessed attorney’s fees for filing PIP suit when they knew or should have known that facts set forth in complaint failed to state cause of action due to exhaustion of PIP benefits is denied where petitioners have adequate legal remedy via plenary appeal, and trial court had jurisdiction to award fees pursuant to section 57.105 following provider’s voluntary dismissal of complaint

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 935b

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Justiciable issues — Claim or defense not supported by material facts or by application of then-existing law to those facts — Complaint in which provider named policyholder rather than covered patient to whom it provided medical services resulting from accident was not so frivolous as to compel award of attorney’s fees under section 57.105 — Provider’s claims were supported by existing law, notwithstanding insurer’s argument that provider could not sue for payment because patient revoked her assignment of benefits to provider — No error in denying insurer’s motion for attorney’s fees

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 704a

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Justiciable issues — No abuse of discretion in denying fee award against attorneys representing medical provider who filed PIP suit using unregistered fictitious name based in good faith reliance on information provided by provider — Trial court did not apply wrong standard to determine whether action was frivolous by admitting evidence of when counsel for insurer became aware of certain issues that were raised by insurer for first time after three years of litigation where insurer raised other theories for recovery of attorney’s fees besides frivolity of action and blended theories throughout hearing on entitlement to fees — No merit to insurer’s argument that attorneys acted in bad faith by filing suit on behalf of corporate entity without its knowledge where provider thought he was doing business in name of franchisor and openly conducted business in that name, and addition of “Inc.” after franchisor’s name in pleadings, resulting in unregistered fictitious name, was clerical error — No merit to argument that award against attorneys is warranted by fact that they sued wrong party where confusion was only in name of attorneys’ client, not that of insurer, and insurer was always proper defendant — Award against attorneys is not warranted based on deceptive HCFA forms containing name of franchisor where insurer has paid prior claims using same documentation, insurer has always known that provider was proper entity, and all HCFA forms had taxpayer identification number belonging to provider

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1087b

Attorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Hearing — Continuance — Where counsel for medical provider filed notice of conflict asserting that he could not appear at fee hearing and motion for continuance of hearing but counsel failed to set motion for hearing, appear at fee hearing or contact court to excuse appearance, court proceeded with fee hearing — Amounts of attorney’s fees and paralegal fees calculated — Expert witness fee awarded

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 255b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Depositions — Failure to attend — Sanctions — Attorney’s fees and costs awarded

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 230d

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Depositions — Order memorializing agreement to pay expert witness fee for time spent by counsel for medical provider preparing for and being deposed regarding attorney’s fees