Volume 8

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 634a

Insurance — Liability — Torts — Settlement — Plaintiff was not entitled to recover damages from employer’s liability insurer based on injuries plaintiff sustained in work-related employment where plaintiff had already received lump sum payment of workers’ compensation benefits from same insurer and had executed full release of employer and insurer from any further liability for workers’ compensation benefits — Immunity from tort liability afforded employer by statute is also enjoyed by workers’ compensation insurer — Obligation under policy to pay non-workers’ compensation damages for which employer was liable when such recovery is permitted by state law did not obligate insurer to pay personal injury judgment in view of state law making workers’ compensation plaintiff’s exclusive remedy — Insurer’s motion for judgment on pleadings is granted

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 859a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Venue in contract case is not limited to county where accident occurred — Service upon insurer in PIP case is proper in any county in state — Motion to dismiss denied

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 95a

Insurance — Uninsured motorist — Insured’s action against insurer — Insurer’s motion to set aside judgment and motion to conform judgment to policy limits denied — Civil procedure — Service of process — Insurer abandoned its argument that default and final judgment were void as matter of law because process was served on insurance commissioner — Default — Record refutes insurer’s claim that it was not provided notice of application for default — Even if clerk’s default were vacated, final judgment, which was entered after trial on issues of liability and damages, would not be affected — Insurer received adequate notice of trial, and its failure to appear and defend itself was direct result of its own actions — Relief from judgment — Fraud — Actions of plaintiff’s counsel in requesting court to enter judgment in excess of policy limits does not constitute fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct which would warrant relief from judgment under rule 1.540(b) — Defendant not entitled to relief from judgment based on mistake or inadvertence — Insurer’s actions in instant case constituted gross negligence barring it from relief

Reversed and remanded at 27 Fla. L. Weekly D44a (On Motion for Rehearing at 27 Fla. L. Weekly D1149a)

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 736c

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Action against insurer for denying full payment of medical bill — Insurer complied with requirements of statute in reducing amount bill by obtaining reasonable proof that it was not responsible for the amount billed — Where insurer complied with statute, no payment was overdue and insured could not be entitled to statutory interest on unpaid portion of bill — Final judgment entered in favor of insurer

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 199d

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Delay in payment of benefits — Interest

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 199b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Delay in payment of benefits — Interest

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 251a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Interest — Partial summary judgment granted as to issue of statutory interest — Plaintiff entitled to summary judgment as matter of law on unpaid medical bills which defendant admits should have been paid, and to statutory interest

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 217a

Contracts — Health maintenance organizations — HMO subscriber did not demonstrate error in trial court’s decision that, although a medical provider provided a service covered by subscriber’s HMO, billed its services to his HMO, and received customary payment from HMO, it was not a contract provider statutorily barred from billing the subscriber for services covered by his HMO — Balance billing by non-contract providers is not contrary to public policy — Where patient testified that he did not recall executing financial agreement with medical provider and undisputed evidence showed that agreement was signed after administration of medication shortly before surgery, lack of capacity to contract was established

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 363a

Insurance — General commercial liability — Exclusions — Insurer had no duty to defend and indemnify insured where policy included assault and battery exclusion, regardless of fact that plaintiff who was injured in assault on insured’s premises pled in negligence, asserting that insured failed to provide adequate security — Insurer’s motion for summary judgment granted

8 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 606a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Prejudicial error occurred when defendant’s expert witness gave improper response to hypothetical question and testified to matters outside his expert medical knowledge — Law unclear whether evidence of separate lawsuit is proper in PIP claim — Allowing evidence of impairment rating not proper when its only purpose is to suggest separate litigation — New trial required