Volume 17

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1249c

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1712PALEInsurance — Personal injury protection — Interest — Where insurer paid benefits on 30th day after date of receipt of notice of loss, no interest was due — No merit to arguments that interest began to accrue upon receipt of bills and that date of receipt of bills is counted in calculation of thirty-day period

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 926a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1710BLAKInsurance — Homeowners — Examination under oath — Noncompliant spouse — Although husband who is not named in wife’s homeowners policy and has permanently moved out of home is no longer additional insured under policy, husband was additional insured on date of burglary when he was residing in home, and he was required to attend EUO concerning burglary — However, where policy does not require all insureds to submit to EUO as condition precedent to coverage, insurer cannot deny coverage to fully compliant wife based on husband’s failure to attend EUO — Insurer may deny claim of noncompliant husband

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 352b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1705EVERInsurance — Homeowners — Venue — Government agency — Home venue privilege applies to homeowners’ claims against Citizens Property Insurance Corporation for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, damages, and equitable relief — Citizens did not waive venue privilege by failing to assert it in other cases — Sword-wielder exception does not apply to case in which Citizens is simply a passive defendant — Motion to transfer venue to county in which Citizens is headquartered is granted

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1222a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1712DIREInsurance — Fraudulent claims — Civil theft — Violation of statute prohibiting filing of false or fraudulent insurance claims cannot form basis for civil theft claim — Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act — Insurer’s claim against medical provider for filing fraudulent claim is excluded from application of FDUTPA

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 682b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1708JEANInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Passenger — Spouse — Owner of another vehicle not insured during “gap period” — Where husband of insured was injured while passenger in wife’s vehicle during statutory gap period when law did not require and husband did not have PIP coverage, husband qualifies for coverage under wife’s policy as “any other person while occupying insured motor vehicle” and is not barred from coverage by exclusion for “owner of motor vehicle with respect to which security is required under Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law” — Res judicata — Collateral estoppel — Decision of different county court finding that husband is excluded from coverage does not bar contrary decision in this case where cases involve same claimant and insurer, but different medical providers and different claims

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1208a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1712HIGDInsurance — Homeowners — Coverage — Exclusions — Resident relative — In wrongful death action by mother as representative of estate of deceased child against father who allowed child to ride helmetless on back of ATV driven by intoxicated person while at father’s home, father’s homeowners insurer seeks declaration that child is excluded from coverage as resident relative — Where undisputed facts establish that, although parents had shared parental responsibility, mother was child’s primary caregiver, child attended school in mother’s home county, child’s life centered around mother’s home, and child did not have own room at father’s home, child was resident of mother’s home and is covered under father’s homeowners policy — No merit to argument that term “resident” is sufficiently ambiguous to be interpreted to find that child had dual residency at both father’s and mother’s homes — Insurance exclusions must be narrowly construed and any ambiguity must be construed against insurer that drafted policy

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 379a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1705GORDInsurance — Personal injury protection — Evidence — CPT code manual and CPT assistant publication are both admissible through judicial notice, but effect of CPT assistant is not binding — Physician testimony is relevant to determination of whether CPT coding is applicable to tests billed

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 882a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1710STAR Insurance — Personal injury protection — Insured’s action against insurer — Civil procedure — Insured’s second amended complaint is nullity where it was filed without leave of court or written consent of insurer — No error in granting summary judgment in favor of insurer on first amended complaint in which insured sought damages for insurer’s failure to pay purported settlement amount, interest, and attorney’s fees and costs and alleged that a certain letter from insured’s counsel to insurer constituted a settlement agreement and “confession of judgment” — Letter was, at best, an agreement to participate in settlement negotiations, and “an agreement to agree” is unenforceable as a matter of law — Where parties did not enter into settlement agreement, and insurer never paid disputed claim, insurer did not confess judgment, and trial court properly granted summary judgment on confession of judgment issue

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 164a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1703CABRInsurance — Discovery — Surveillance tape — While insurer had right to depose insured prior to releasing surveillance tape of insured, trial court did not err in ordering insurer to release tape prior to deposing insured where court gave insurer ample opportunity to depose insured before releasing tape, but insurer delayed setting deposition to avoid releasing tape

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 606a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1707DIAZInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses incurred during statutory “gap period” — Insurer correctly applied MRI fee schedule contained in 2007 PIP statute, which was in effect at time policy was issued, to MRI rendered during “gap period” created by sunsetting of PIP statute — Insurer has no legal duty to provide copy of PIP policy and declarations page upon pre-suit demand of medical provider/assignee — Demand letter that demanded amount in excess of statutory MRI fee schedule is invalid