Volume 14

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 938a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Error to enter summary judgment in favor of medical provider where benefits were exhausted before provider that accepted reduced payment of claim filed suit and before insurer is alleged to have received notice that provider was seeking unpaid portion of bill — Further, insurer is liable for statutory interest only if insurer is ultimately found to have duty to pay claim

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1000b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Insured’s action against insurer seeking damages as a result of unpaid PIP benefits that insured sought to be applied towards a workers’ compensation lien incurred after insured was involved in an on-the-job automobile accident — Suit was premature where complaint was filed less than 30 days after service of demand letter — Error to enter summary judgment in favor of insured on ground that lien had been settled where there were factual issues as to whether lien had been settled or when settlement occurred, whether insurer had been put on reasonable notice of insured’s request for compensation, and, if there were a lien settlement to which PIP benefits applied, the entity which should be paid to avoid duplication — Civil procedure — Error to consider counsel’s unsworn statements when considering motion for summary judgment — Insurer’s failure to file affidavit in opposition to summary judgment is of no consequence where insured did not meet burden of showing absence of factual issue

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 481b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Where insured’s injuries resulted from altercation with husband, not contact with motor vehicle, insured has failed to state cause of action for PIP benefits

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 881a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — Insurer’s motion for summary judgment based on exhaustion of benefits is denied where there remains material issue of fact as to whether insurer’s denial of benefits was wrongful — If charges are found to be reasonable, necessary and related, insurer will be liable for statutory interest and attorney’s fees

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 647a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Insurer is not liable for balance of reduced claim despite fact that benefits were exhausted in payment of later-filed claims after medical provider filed suit and despite fact that provider resubmitted its claim with presuit demand letter prior to the benefits exhausting

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 438b

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1013a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — Escrow of disputed amount — Insurer was not required to reserve remaining PIP benefits when claim was paid in reduced amount or denied — However, where there were sufficient benefits to pay medical provider’s claim at time insurer denied claim on erroneous belief that provider was required to register as clinic, and insurer disregarded provider’s priority claim and exhausted benefits on subordinate claims, insurer is responsible for provider’s claim as well as interest and penalties

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1059b

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 805a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — Where insurer exhausted benefits after suit was filed, and there is no evidence that exhaustion of benefits was undertaken in bad faith, summary judgment is awarded for insurer

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 869a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Right to contest denial of PIP claim was extinguished through exhaustion of benefits after claim was submitted and suit was filed where there was no showing of bad faith

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1013a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — No merit to argument on rehearing that court overlooked case law where court found cited cases distinguishable — Court did not hold that insured is entitled to benefits in excess of policy limits in absence of bad faith, but rather, that PIP benefits were overdue because insurer wrongfully denied and disregarded provider’s priority claim and exhausted benefits on subordinate claims — Appeals — Preservation of issues — No merit to contention that provider should have been prevented from raising argument in response to exhaustion of benefits defense because it did not file reply to defense where issue was raised in both parties’ motions for summary judgment and argued in trial court

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 438a

Licensing — Driver’s license — Suspension — Driving under influence — Lawfulness of stop