Volume 28

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 87b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2801DIREInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Exhaustion of policy limits — Gratuitous payments — Where PIP insurer paid claim to another medical provider in excess of what was required by policy and PIP statute, payment was gratuitous payment that did not exhaust PIP benefits — Insurer owes payment for plaintiff provider’s claim

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 333a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2804PINEInsurance — Personal injury protection — Coverage — Medical expenses — Reasonableness of charges — Collateral estoppel — Where identical parties have previously litigated identical issue of reasonableness of medical provider’s charges for same CPT codes, parties had full and fair opportunity to litigate issue and did litigate issue in prior proceedings, and issue is critical and necessary part of litigation, all elements necessary for application of doctrine of collateral estoppel are met — It is immaterial that prior adjudications pertained to different accidents, patients, claims, causes of action, and assignments of benefits than present case — No merit to argument that doctrine of collateral estoppel should not be applied because insurer believes that prior adjudications constituted error where insurer allowed those adjudications to become final without appeal — No merit to argument that court is barred from applying doctrine of collateral estoppel because it was not raised in provider’s reply, as rules and law did not permit provider to file reply asserting collateral estoppel — Provider is entitled to judgment on reasonableness issue as matter of law

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 429a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2805ALTAInsurance — Personal injury protection — Affirmative defenses — Amendment — Dilatoriness — Sanctions — Where insurer failed to notify medical provider of pre-suit exhaustion of policy limits until it filed motion to amend affirmative defenses to raise that issue over a year after suit was filed, insurer is granted leave to amend its affirmative defenses but is ordered to pay attorney’s fees and costs that provider incurred as result of insurer’s dilatory conduct

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 282a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2804MATHInsurance — Settlement agreement — Enforcement — Denial — Appeals — Order denying motion to enforce settlement agreement is not an appealable order and is not reviewable by certiorari

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 411b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2805HERSInsurance — Travel — Attorney’s fees — Amount — Requested award of $402,495 in attorney’s fees for fraud in inducement claim and breach of contract claim on travel insurance policy that cost plaintiff $146.94 and provided maximum coverage of $2,260.86 is clearly unreasonable where case was neither novel nor complex and did not carry any far-reaching jurisprudential significance — Claimed hours that are unnecessary, excessive and duplicative are not compensable — Costs, expert witness fee, and prejudgment interest are awarded

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 155a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2802HERRInsurance — Venue — Forum non conveniens — Venue transferred from Miami-Dade County to Pinellas County where accident occurred, insured resides, insurer’s office is located, and policy was issued — Further, insurer’s adjusters and representatives are located in county adjoining Pinellas County, and witnesses would be significantly inconvenienced by having to travel to Miami-Dade County

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 405a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2805BARR

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Notice of loss — Claim form that omits medical provider’s professional license number is substantially complete and provided insurer notice of covered loss — Insurer that made payment on claim without objecting to missing license number cannot argue that number was material element of claim

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 142a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2802COLE

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Notice of loss — Claim form that contains correct name of medical provider but omits provider’s professional license number is substantially complete and accurate and provided insurer notice of covered loss — No merit to argument that change in PIP statute from stating that providers “shall” include professional license number to stating that providers “must” provide professional license number changes standard for notice of loss from substantial compliance to strict liability

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 353a

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2804HALL

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Venue — Medical provider is entitled to file suit in county where payment under policy is owed — Forum selection clause that specifies that legal action “to determine coverage” under policy shall be filed and maintained in county where policy was issued is not applicable to venue of suit seeking benefits, not coverage — Further, it would be unjust to enforce forum selection clause that is result of insurer’s overwhelming bargaining power

28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 324b

Online Reference: FLWSUPP 2804KILG

Insurance — Med pay — Coverage — Exhaustion of policy limits — Insurer’s total of $3500 payments did not exhaust benefits under policy providing $1000 med pay coverage and $2500 PIP coverage — Med pay and PIP are separate and distinct coverages and, whether by mistake or otherwise, insurer’s explanations of benefits allocated only $41.60 of payments to med pay coverage — Corrected EOB issued after receipt of demand letter is not sufficient to “reallocate” payments to med pay coverage