Volume 24

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 992a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2411CAPOInsurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Claim or defense not supported by material facts or applicable law — Where medical provider filed claim and suit for X-rays not actually rendered and continued to prosecute case for more than 21 days after being put on notice that insurer intended to seek sanctions should provider continue prosecution, motion for sanctions is granted

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 239a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2403CRESInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Claim or defense not supported by material facts or applicable law — Sanctions under section 57.105 are apportioned equally between medical provider and provider’s counsel where counsel has not offered any evidence to show that he acted in good faith based on representations of provider in filing suit

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 335a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2405VELEInsurance — Property — Attorney’s fees — Where insured tendered its estimate of actual cash value of insured’s loss, as required by policy, and invoked its right to appraisal when insured objected to the amount; appraiser determined that insured was entitled to additional amount; and insurer immediately tendered the additional amount, the insured was not entitled to a judgment confirming the appraisal award, which would trigger entitlement to attorney’s fees under section 627.428

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 636a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2408COOPInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Discovery — Insurer is ordered to produce list of all documentation on which it intends to rely at hearing on medical provider’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs, resumé of insurer’s attorney’s fees expert, and billing records of insurer’s counsel

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 223a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2403JURAInsurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claims — Attorney’s fees — Contingency risk multiplier — Where there were significant liability issues raised by insurer, relatively modest damages, and few attorneys in relevant market qualified to handle complex sinkhole claim, availability of contingency risk multiplier was necessary to obtain competent counsel — Likelihood of success for purpose of deciding amount of multiplier should be assessed from viewpoint of counsel, not that of client — Where insurer had verified sinkhole activity prior to counsel undertaking representation but maintained that no evidence could confirm that activity occurred during policy period and had asserted other policy defenses, including late notice of loss, likelihood of success was approximately even at outset, justifying multiplier of 1.5

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 594a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2408FELDInsurance — Personal injury protection — Attorney’s fees — Charging lien — Discharged attorney that formerly represented insured in action for PIP benefits appeals final judgment on equitable distribution of settlement determining that attorney was entitled to 75% of $5,000 amount designated for attorney’s fees and costs in settlement — No merit to argument that attorney has statutory right, under section 627.428, to proceed against insurer for attorney’s fees rather than having fees capped by terms of settlement — Statute is inapplicable to claim for fees pursuant to charging lien — No abuse of discretion in awarding fees and costs from settlement proceeds based on quantum meruit

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 902a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2411CONTInsurance — Bad faith — Attorney’s fees — Confession of judgment — Trial court properly found that filing Civil Remedy Notice of Insurer Violations by insured as condition precedent to action for bad faith failure to settle was not an election of remedies precluding declaratory judgment action based on breach of policy — Although insurer’s payment of disputed amount within sixty-day period provided by statute precluded the insured from bringing an action for bad faith failure to settle, this was not determinative of insured’s complaints for declaratory relief concerning duties of the parties under the policy at issue — Insurer’s payment of additional amounts in dispute after insured filed declaratory relief action amounted to confession of judgment entitling insured to attorney’s fees

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 151a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2402LEBEInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Prevailing party — Confession of judgment — Insurer’s payment of medical bills after plaintiff filed suit was functional equivalent of confession of judgment — Where insurer withheld payment based on requests for documents that were not required under terms of policy, insurer’s withholding of payment was unreasonable, and plaintiff is entitled to award of attorney’s fees and costs — Because insurer denied plaintiff’s entitlement to attorney’s fees and costs, plaintiff is also entitled to award of fees and costs for litigating entitlement issue

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 989b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2411PAGEInsurance — Personal injury protection — Motion to preclude taxation of a fee for plaintiff’s expert on the matter of reasonableness of attorney’s fees and costs is granted

24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 148b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2402SMITInsurance — Attorney’s fees — Amount