Volume 12

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 568a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Where insured executed document assigning benefits and all causes of action to physician rather than plaintiff medical provider on letterhead containing name of provider, but neither assignment nor pleadings make any nexus between provider and physician assignee, assignment does not create valid assignment to provider, and provider has no standing to file suit — Motion to dismiss granted

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 571a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Suit brought in name of physician and fictitious name owned by physician individually seeking payment for bills submitted to insurer by corporation wholly owned by physician — Physician that obtained assignment of benefits to himself individually and fictitious name, not to corporation, cannot utilize assignment to create standing for corporation — Plaintiff is not real party in interest in suit seeking to recover for bills submitted by corporation and, therefore, lacks standing to recover for those bills — Where insurer has paid all plaintiff’s bills in full, it is clear that plaintiff has sustained no damages and insurer is entitled to summary judgment

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 162a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Medical provider/assignee lacks standing where insured executed assignment of benefits and direction to pay document and patient’s financial responsibility agreement on same date

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 233a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where body of document does not use term “assignment” but term is used as headings of two sections of document, document was created by insurer and sent to insured, insured executed document and returned it to insurer, and insurer relied on document in making payments to medical providers, document is assignment of benefits whether by construing ambiguity in document against insurer or by estoppel

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 232a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where body of document does not use term “assignment” but term is used as headings of two sections of document, document was created by insurer and sent to insured, insured executed document and returned it to insurer, and insurer relied on document in making payments to medical providers, document is assignment of benefits whether by construing ambiguity in document against insurer or by estoppel

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 231d

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Where body of document does not use term “assignment” but term is used as headings of two sections of document, document was created by insurer and sent to insured, insured executed document and returned it to insurer, and insurer relied on document in making payments to medical providers, document is assignment of benefits whether by construing ambiguity in document against insurer or by estoppel

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 91a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Validity — Irrevocable assignment is valid — Coverage — Unreasonable, unrelated or unnecessary medical expenses — Deposition of adjuster testifying to peer review doctor’s findings is hearsay that is not considered in ruling on motion for summary judgment — Where insurer has failed to establish that it had reasonable proof that it was not responsible for payment of medical bill within 30 days and failed to obtain report from physician in same licensing chapter as treating physicians stating no further treatment was medically necessary, all outstanding bills remain due and owing — Testimony of adjuster is insufficient to create genuine issue of material fact where affidavit of treating physician attests that all treatments were reasonable, related, and necessary — Summary judgment granted in favor of medical provider

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 888a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Compliance with fictitious name law after filing lawsuit — Period of abatement is appropriate to allow insurer to decide whether to pay disputed sum without liability for attorney’s fees and costs

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 803c

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Sufficiency — Patient ledger that does not indicate which services had been reduced or denied fails to meet specificity requirement for attachment to demand letter — Standing — Assignment — Where assignment of benefits is in name different than provider’s registered corporate name, provider was unlawfully conducting business as unregistered fictitious entity and is precluded from maintaining cause of action or claiming entitlement to PIP benefits since services were not lawfully rendered — Provider does not fall within exception to fictitious name registration for business formed by person practicing licensed profession unless name under which business is to be conducted differed from name as licensed or registered where name on assignment relied upon for standing differs from provider’s registered corporate name — Further, assignment naming unregistered fictitious entity cannot confer standing on provider

12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 869b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Standing — Assignment — Where medical provider referred to itself in complaint as successor in interest to dissolved corporation, attached assignment from insured to fictitious name cancelled by dissolved corporation, and failed to allege any assignment from dissolved corporation to provider, provider is granted leave to amend complaint to include allegations reflecting current registration of fictitious name and assignment of benefits to provider