Volume 17

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1251a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1712DIAZInsurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Reasonable hourly rates commensurate with experience and competence of counsel are set — Contingency risk multiplier — Award of multiplier is not appropriate

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 538a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1707GOMEZAttorney’s fees — Insurance — Personal injury protection — Contingency risk multiplier — No abuse of discretion in applying 2.0 multiplier, despite absence of evidence that medical provider actually experienced difficulty in obtaining counsel, where provider’s attorney testified that he would not have taken case without possibility of multiplier and expert witness testified that he would not have taken case and that it would have been difficult to obtain counsel without possibility of multiplier

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 916b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1710JEANInsurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Justiciable issues — Appeal of order denying insurer’s motion for sanctions against medical provider that refused to dismiss PIP log count after issuance of appellate decision on issue and granting provider’s competing motion for sanctions for insurer’s refusal to withdraw its motion for sanctions — Order awarding sanctions payable within 30 days is immediately ripe for review, whereas denial of insurer’s motion for sanctions is not immediately reviewable — Motion for 57.105 attorney’s fees is a claim for which 57.105 fees may be awarded — Error to award sanctions against insurer where insurer’s motion for sanctions was based on application of then-existing case law to facts of case, and trial court failed to make finding that there was complete absence of justiciable issue of law or fact raised by motion — Mere fact that insurer lost on motion for sanctions against provider is not sufficient basis for imposing sanctions for failure to raise justiciable issue

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 83a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1702FIG2Insurance — Personal injury protection — Discovery — Depositions — Appeals — Certiorari challenge to order compelling deposition of adjuster is moot due to entry of summary judgment in favor of medical provider on issue of reasonableness, relatedness and necessity of treatment — Attorney’s fees — Appellate — Motion for appellate fees filed after reply brief was filed was untimely

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 61a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1701SMI2Insurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Award of attorney’s fees for time spent proving entitlement to fees and costs

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 988a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1710MARRInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Reasonable, related, and necessary expenses — Discovery — Depositions — No error in granting expert witness fees for deposition of treating physician — Error to fail to consider peer review affidavit submitted by insurer’s expert because it was not based on independent medical examination — Error to refuse to consider peer review report because it was obtained after plaintiff had already filed suit — Attorney’s fees — Provider conditionally granted appellate attorney’s fees with respect to portion of lower court order affirmed, contingent on provider being prevailing party at conclusion of case

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 419a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1706MORI

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 19 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 806aInsurance — Personal injury protection — Summary judgment — Error to exclude peer review report and affidavit from summary judgment evidence where report was substantiated by insured’s treatment records and treating physician’s examination of insured — Affidavits present genuine factual dispute regarding unpaid medical bills that precludes summary judgment — Discovery — Depositions — No error in requiring insurer to pay expert witness fee to depose treating physician — Appellate court lacks jurisdiction to reverse purported attorney’s fees order not contained in appellate record — Medical provider is awarded partial appellate attorney’s fees for discovery issue on which it prevailed

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 211a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1703MORRInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Insured is entitled to reimbursement of attorney’s fees incurred after entry of order determining entitlement to fees where insurer continued to litigate insured’s entitlement to fees after entry of order and attempted to vacate and set aside that order — Insured is entitled to reimbursement for time and costs associated with taking deposition of insurer’s adjuster where deposition went forward as result of insurer’s emergency motion for reconsideration of order on insured’s entitlement to fees and need for insured to obtain discovery that insurer was withholding regarding its own attorney time — Attorney’s fees, costs, expert witness fees and prejudgment interest awardedReversed 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 267a

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 32a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1701DOMIInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Costs, expert witness fee and prejudgment interest awarded

17 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 592a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 1707CEGAInsurance — Standing — Assignment — Court will overlook clerical error in name of medical provider/assignee in assignment where error does not go to substance of assignment — Motion for summary judgment regarding lack of standing is denied