Volume 14

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 176b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Interrogatories — Computer database used to review bills — Insurer relying on computer database as defense in asserting that bills are unreasonable is ordered to provide information regarding underlying formula, criteria and methodology utilized to determine amount allowed, scale or schedule of reasonable billing amounts used to reduce bills, and list of medical providers in county currently billing at rates insurer elected to pay for period three months before and three months after first date of service at issue — Insurer also required to provide name and address of any providers in county to which insurer paid higher amount during same period, with explanation for higher payment — Defense can be waived by failure to provide this information

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 124a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Computer database used to review bills — Certiorari challenge to interlocutory order requiring compliance with previous order that compelled discovery related to database and imposing sanctions for noncompliance with prior order — Timeliness of petition — Where prior order compelled production within certain time, but insurer and database owner did not seek review of that order and, instead, waited to seek appellate review until order requiring compliance and imposing sanctions was rendered one year later, petition for writ of certiorari is actually challenging initial order compelling production and is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction — Imposition of attorney’s fees as sanction for discovery violation is not subject to certiorari review

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 835a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Software used to reduce medical bills — Appeals — Insurer asserting certiorari challenge to order compelling production of information and documents pertaining to software and database used to reduce medical bills has not shown that discovery order will cause irreparable or material harm where insurer has option to use evidence other than computer program to support defense that amounts charged exceed reasonable amounts for services rendered — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of law in ordering insurer to produce underlying data upon which it based determination of reasonable charge where order does not state absolute requirement that insurer produce materials allegedly not in its possession, but merely establishes condition that if insurer wants to use program and database in defense it must produce requested discovery — No merit to argument that medical provider is not entitled to discovery on issue because burden to prove reasonableness of charges is on provider, not insurer, where insurer raised excessiveness of charges as affirmative defense

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 108a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Failure to comply — Sanctions — Where insurer failed to produce underlying data for database used to review bills, database is stricken as defense

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 895a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Failure to comply — Computer database used to review medical bills — Where insurer has failed to produce underlying data and documents substantiating database used to review bills, database is stricken as defense

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 847a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Computer database used to review medical bills — Trial court did not err in compelling production of manuals and documentation related to database used to review medical bills where documents were in insurer’s control and possession, and insurer failed to file privilege log asserting privileged nature of documents — Requests for production that seek identification of information, not production of documents, were improperly propounded, and trial court erred in compelling production — No error to compel production of alleged trade secret of payments made in excess of amount allowed where insurer did not file privilege log — Discovery order does not depart from essential requirements of law or rise to level of irreparable harm merely because compliance will require unwarranted effort and expense, but will not effectually ruin insurer’s business

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 669a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Privilege — Work product — Privilege log filed by insurer was not legally sufficient, and court could find waiver of privilege based solely on this fact — However, after in camera review, court determines that ISO Claim Summary Search is work product and need not be disclosed — Documents which were not produced at time that litigation was substantial and imminent or which do not contain information meeting the definition of work product must be disclosed — Plaintiff entitled to attorney’s fees and costs incurred in seeking this order

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 478a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Privilege — Waiver — Insurer’s work product and attorney-client privilege objections are deemed waived where insurer failed to file privilege log for more than 8 months after medical provider propounded request to produce, log produced is incomplete and confusing due to use of acronyms and abbreviations and does not contain required information necessary to distinguish between valid privileges and frivolous claims to avoid discovery, and at hearing insurer could not raise single argument that validated claim of work product privilege

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 107a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Claims adjuster’s log notes — Privilege — Work product — Date of demand letter triggers adversarial relationship for which subsequent entries into adjuster’s notes may be privileged, as notes prepared prior to receipt of demand letter are not prepared in anticipation of litigation — Attorney-client — Production would not violate attorney-client privilege where only notes sought are those prepared prior to demand letter and prior to date insurer was represented by counsel, and insurer did not anticipate that it would be sued at that time

14 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 395a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Depositions — Expert witness fees — Deposition of treating physician in capacity as records custodian and fact witness on issues of whether insured was in accident and whether orthopedic and neurological treatment for which insured was referred was necessary — Motion for expert witness fee, protective order and attorney’s fees and costs is denied