2011

36 Fla. L. Weekly D1062a
63 So. 3d 63

Insurance — Personal injury protection — A PIP insurer may not elect to use Medicare Part B fee schedules set forth in section 627.736(5)(a)(2) when the subject policy specifies that the PIP insurer will pay 80% of medically necessary expenses — Incorporation of PIP statute into policy did not give insurer the unilateral right to ignore the only payment methodology referenced in the policy

36 Fla. L. Weekly D1553b
99 So. 3d 525

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Appellate attorney’s fees — Where circuit court appellate division reversed summary judgment which county court had entered in favor of insured’s assignee in action against insurer, but affirmed county court order requiring insurer to pay expert witness fee for assignee’s expert, circuit court departed from essential requirements of law in denying award of attorney’s fees to assignee for prevailing on expert witness fee issue

36 Fla. L. Weekly D2609a
75 So. 3d 798

Insurance — Nonrenewal of policy — Where insurer failed to give insured subcontractor notice of insurer’s nonrenewal of policy which provided coverage for insured’s additional insured, terms of policy remained in effect at time of underlying incident because insured had not obtained replacement coverage before underlying incident

36 Fla. L. Weekly D458a
57 So. 3d 228

Insurance — Named-peril building and personal property policy — Coverage — Where policy provided coverage for damage caused to insured building as result of physical contact with a “vehicle,” it was error to find that there was no coverage for damage to the foundation of the insured building when it was struck by an excavator — Excavator is a vehicle

36 Fla. L. Weekly D430a
59 So. 3d 153

Workers’ compensation — Cancellation or ab initio voidance of insurance policy — Judge of compensation claims acted outside of his limited statutory authority in voiding ab initio employer’s contract for workers’ compensation insurance based on misrepresentations made by the employer, either during or shortly after the completion of an application for workers’ compensation coverage — Neither law nor competent substantial evidence supported JCC’s alternative finding that claimant, who provided painting services to employer, was not employed by employer but, rather, by some separate legal entity — Remand for additional proceedings to determine extent of workers’ compensation benefits due claimant

36 Fla. L. Weekly D1022a
60 So. 3d 1148

Insurance — Life insurance — Insurable interest — Where insurance agent procured life insurance policy on the life of his client, with a trust named as owner and beneficiary of the policy, trial court properly found that the trust did not have an insurable interest in the insured’s life, and that the policy was void ab initio — Trial court properly determined that the trust was not entitled to a refund of any premiums paid — Where a party wrongfully procures a life insurance policy on an individual in whom it has no insurable interest, the party is not entitled to a return of premiums paid for the void policy

36 Fla. L. Weekly D743b
58 So. 3d 377
Venue — Action against estate seeking declaratory judgment that plaintiffs were entitled to funds derived from value of surrendered life insurance certificates and against life insurance company alleging that life insurance company wrongfully paid funds belonging to plaintiffs to estate — In suit involving more than one defendant, venue is proper for all defendants where it is proper for any one defendant — Trial court erred in finding that estate met its initial burden of showing that plaintiffs’ choice of venue was improper where personal representative’s affidavit challenged venue as to estate, but did not challenge venue as to life insurance company — Plaintiffs established that venue was proper as to life insurance company in county where life insurance payment was to be made and cause of action accrued

36 Fla. L. Weekly D2190a
73 So. 3d 798

Insurance — Life insurance — Interpleader — Competing claims for proceeds of policy by decedent’s former wife, who was former owner and beneficiary of policy, and persons named on combined change-of-owner and change-of-beneficiary form, which former wife alleged was fraudulently procured — Case was not ripe for summary judgment in favor of either side where there were disputed issues of fact concerning former wife’s knowledge that insurance proceeds had been paid to others, and that issue alone affected whether insurer’s affirmative defenses of waiver, estoppel, and payment and discharge applied — Florida’s facility of payment statutory defense, which provides that payment to person then designated in policy fully discharges insurer absent written notice of competing claims, applies in situations in which change of beneficiary was allegedly procured through forgery — However, policy in instant case requires that a change of owner or beneficiary must be by written request satisfactory to the insurer, and factual dispute exists as to whether insurer made changes to policy and paid policy proceeds in strict compliance with the policy’s terms, pursuant to which only former wife, as owner of policy, had right to transfer ownership of policy — While policy did not specify procedures for changing beneficiary, and insurer claimed that changing beneficiary was governed by unwritten business policies which allowed an insured to request a notice-of-change form and which did not require that notice-of-change forms be notarized, factual inconsistency existed between unwritten policy that notarization was not necessary and a written form sent out by insurer that included a notary certificate

36 Fla. L. Weekly D1783b
71 So. 3d 899

Insurance — Pollution liability and environmental damage — Trial court erred in finding insurer liable for claim for environmental clean-up costs made outside policy period on ground that insurer had failed to provide insured with a written notice of non-renewal as required by federal law incorporated into the policies at issue — Trial court further erred in finding that even if issuance of subsequent policy by insurer’s subsidiary, which was virtually identical to policy issued by insurer and contained same retroactive policy date as the first policy, could be construed as a notice of non-renewal, insurer was liable for claim made prior to expiration of 60-day time limit set forth in federal regulation — Language in federal regulation providing that cancellation or other termination of insurance is effective only upon written notice and only after the expiration of 60 days after written notice is received by the insured does not apply to instant case in which insured allowed policy to expire by its own terms

36 Fla. L. Weekly D1173a
62 So. 3d 1173

Civil procedure — Insurance — Wrongful death — Non-joinder of insurers statute — Insurer’s motion, denied by trial judge, to sever third-party insurance coverage action by equipment rental company from wrongful death action in which defendants included the insured and the equipment rental company, whose contract with insured required indemnification of equipment rental company from any liability, claim, loss or other damage arising from use of equipment — Certiorari petition granted and trial court’s denial of severance motion quashed because trying the tort action and the insurance action together would violate Florida’s non-joinder of insurers statute — Petition for certiorari review of trial court’s denial of insurer’s motion to dismiss denied