‘PIP’ Repeal Hits Wall in Senate

February 28, 2018/in News4Jax

‘PIP’ repeal hits wall in Senate

By Jim Turner, News Service of Florida
Posted: 8:41 PM, February 28, 2018
PIP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Senate panel Wednesday rejected a measure that would eliminate Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system, with opponents arguing the proposal could lead to a slight increase in costs for motorists.

The Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee overwhelmingly voted against the measure (SB 150), which called for repealing the system that requires motorists to carry $10,000 in personal-injury protection, or PIP, coverage. The bill would have led to requiring bodily-injury coverage as a replacement.

The House approved a different version of the proposal (HB 9) during the first week of the annual legislative session, which is scheduled to end March 9.

Technically, the repeal proposal by Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, is still alive.

Immediately after the vote, subcommittee Chairwoman Anitere Flores, a Miami Republican who voted against the bill, made a motion to reconsider and then “temporarily postponed” the bill — a procedural move that could allow it to come up again.

Even with the maneuver, Flores said after the meeting she didn’t know the future of the bill, as her subcommittee isn’t expected to meet again. The other option would be for the bill to be moved to a different Senate panel.

Lee wasn’t optimistic about either route.

“I’m not really sure what the plan is right now,” he said. “It’s going to be a heavy lift.”

Lee noted it didn’t help that Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier voiced concerns with the bill, which was an indication there isn’t support from Gov. Rick Scott or state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

Scott had backed an effort in 2012 to reform the no-fault system, which has long faced reports of widespread fraud leading to higher insurance rates.

Lee also contended his proposal is being held up by people seeking changes in the state’s “bad faith” insurance laws.

The subcommittee rejected an amendment by Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, that would have made changes to the bad-faith laws.

Bad-faith lawsuits typically involve allegations of misconduct by insurers that handle claims and can be costly.

The Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, the Florida Justice Reform Institute and the Institute for Legal Reform, an offshoot of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are among those that have sought to address changes in bad-faith laws as part of a no-fault repeal.

The House effort has avoided the bad-faith issue. Rep. Erin Grall, a Vero Beach Republican sponsoring the House bill, has said the issue would make the proposal “more complicated than it needs to be.”

The Senate bill, which had idled since getting approved by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Jan. 10, drew fire this week from the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, which launched separate videos arguing the proposed changes would increase costs for motorists.

“Caution alert: Florida state senators want to pass a new law making you pay more for your car insurance,” an ad from the Chamber said. “The bill will force you to pay more for higher mandatory coverage whether you need it or not. Worse, the bill will force you to buy even more coverage over the next five years.”

The House version would require a minimum bodily-injury coverage of $25,000 for damages for injury or death of one person and $50,000 for injury or death of two or more people.

Lee’s proposal, starting Jan. 1, would set a minimum of $20,000 for bodily injury protection that includes coverage for the injury or death of one person and $40,000 for injury or death of two or more people. Two years later, individual premiums would be expected to increase, as the minimum coverage would grow to $25,000 and $50,000.

Also, Lee’s proposal would require motorists to carry $5,000 in what is known as medical payments coverage, or MedPay. Critics have argued that the MedPay coverage requirement would make Lee’s proposal a light version of the current system.

Lee said it was an oversimplification to call his bill “PIP by another name.”

The House version is projected to save motorists on average about $81 a year, with the amount varying depending on a driver’s history and location in the state. Lee’s version carries a projected $8 to $12 a year increase, again depending upon where the motorist lives.

Critics contend the Senate increase could be much higher, up to 60 percent or 70 percent, depending on the changes required in coverage.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/pip-repeal-hits-wall-in-senate

The ‘Five Million Dollar Ant Bite Case’ Goes to Appeals Court … as the Legal World Watches

February 27, 2018/in Sunshine State News

The ‘Five Million Dollar Ant Bite Case’ Goes to Appeals Court … as the Legal World Watches

By NANCY SMITH
February 27, 2018 – 2:15pm

1st DCA First District Court of Appeal

A Hamilton County jury verdict that has drawn the attention of national legal scholars and civil justice reform advocates goes before the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee next week.

If ever a case had Florida set up to repeat in 2018 as the No. 1 lawsuit-happy state — the nation’s top “Judicial Hellhole” — it’s probably going to be this one, Simon’s Trucking, Inc. (Apellant/Defendant) v. Charles A. Lieupo (Appellee/Plaintiff).

The case arises out of a 2011 semi tractor-trailer accident on Interstate 75. The driver of the semi suffered a massive heart attack and died, causing the vehicle to veer off the Interstate and crash into the trees. But the lawsuit doesn’t involve the deceased truck driver.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a tow truck driver, Charles Lieupo, who heard about the accident on a dispatch radio and asked to be hired to remove the wreckage.

After first responders cleared the accident scene of any hazardous materials, Lieupo and others were allowed to remove the tractor-trailer. At the time, Lieupo told friends he had been bitten by fire ants on his legs while at the scene.

Over the next two months, medical records show Lieupo told physicians and other healthcare providers he had been bitten by fire ants. Six months after the accident, Lieupo told his pain-management doctor, “I had ants all over myself … [T]hey were in my breeches and … they were stinging.” But at trial, his story changed dramatically.

Lieupo told a Hamilton County jury that sulfuric battery acid at the accident scene, not ant bites, had injured his legs. A medical specialist disagreed and testified at trial that Lieupo suffered from a pre-existing condition known as “venous stasis,” which is poor blood flow in the extremities. The specialist told the jury that fire ant bites, not battery acid, had irritated Lieupo’s pre-existing condition and caused the skin irritation on his legs.

The jury in rural Hamilton County, where Lieupo has lived his entire life, awarded him $5,211,500 for his injuries.

“This is one of the most egregious jury verdicts we have seen in Florida,” said Jason Gonzalez, Tallahassee managing partner for Shutts & Bowen. Gonzalez will argue the appeal before the First District Court, but he was not involved in the trial.

“Not only does this verdict defy all critical thinking when compared to the evidence, but legally, it should never have gone to trial because Lieupo could not prove the defendant was negligent, and instead filed a strict liability claim that is not allowed in personal injury cases,” Gonzalez added.

The case is drawing national attention. At a recent legal conference the lawsuit was referred to as “The Five Million Dollar Ant Bite Case.” It’s being compared to the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee case, in which a New Mexico jury awarded $2.86 million for a spilled coffee injury on the legal theory that the coffee was “defective” because it was hot.

Tiger Joyce, president of the American Tort Reform Association that recently ranked Florida as the No. 1 “Judicial Hellhole” in America, said this case may be worse than the McDonald’s case.

“In the McDonald’s hot coffee case, the judge at least had the good sense to reduce the jury verdict by over $2.2 million,” said Joyce. “In the Florida ant bite case the judge ignored binding Supreme Court precedent when he let the plaintiff file a strict liability claim and not prove negligence. Then the judge compounded his error by allowing the absurd $5.2 million jury award to stand.

“This case is the poster child for all that’s wrong with the Florida civil justice system,” said Joyce.

William Large of the Florida Justice Reform Institute says the “Five Million Dollar Ant Bite Case” will have a far-reaching and harmful impact if it stands. “The judge in this case allowed a personal injury lawsuit to proceed under Florida’s strict liability environmental contamination statute that is only supposed to apply to damages to natural resources, not injuries to humans,” he said.

In 2010 the Florida Supreme Court addressed the same issue in the landmark case of Curd v. Mosaic, and the Court said personal injury claims are not permitted under the statute.

“We can’t figure out why the judge allowed this to go forward in direct violation of binding Supreme Court precedent on the issue,” said Large, who described the lawsuit as a massive expansion of liability in Florida, that if not reversed on appeal will cost Florida consumers and job creators billions in increased insurance premiums.

The case will be heard March 6 by a three-judge panel at the First District Court of Appeal.

Reach Nancy Smith at [email protected] or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith

http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/five-million-dollar-ant-bite-case-goes-appeals-court-legal-world-watches

Not Just ‘Small’ Claims: County Courts Might Soon Handle Cases Up to $50,000

February 23, 2018/in Daily Business Review

By: Samantha Joseph – February 23, 2018

Under Florida law, county courts handle cases with up to $15,000 at stake, but that limit could more than triple under proposed legislation.

Proposed legislation making its way through the Florida House and Senate would increase the county court jurisdictional limit to $50,000, potentially clearing thousands of cases from circuit court dockets.

Under Florida law, county courts handle cases with up to $15,000 at stake, while circuit courts adjudicate controversies above that limit.

But proposed legislation – HB 7061 and its Senate companion SB 1384 – could more than triple the county court threshold, potentially freeing circuit courts from thousands of trials involving vehicle repossession, credit card debt collection and other civil litigation. The bills would also link the jurisdictional limit to inflation and the unadjusted consumer price index for all urban consumers, keeping the $50,000 threshold in place until June 30, 2020, but then increasing it every five years.

“As a general proposition, all of the chief judges … are in favor of the jurisdictional change,” Broward Chief Judge Jack Tuter said. “What we’re uncertain about … is what are the ramifications?”

Broward satellite courthouses in Hollywood and Deerfield Beach, for instance, aren’t equipped for large trials. Thousands of parking ticket cases already heading to these courthouses would mean new staffing considerations and a plan for small parking lots that can’t accommodate an influx of new users, Tuter said. Plus, 12 of Broward’s county court courtrooms are in satellite buildings, meaning administrators would have to navigate several logistical issues, including sending jurors to far-flung outposts for civil trials now centralized in circuit courtrooms.

“We have a lot of unknown questions,” Tuter said. “Some of them won’t be answered until we see what lawyers are asking for and where they’re filing.”

Across the state, administrators are grappling with the proposed legislation.

“The courts recognize the need to look at the jurisdictional amount,” Miami-Dade Chief Judge Bertila Soto said. “The change will make an impact on the courts, but at this juncture, it’s still too early to determine what those impacts would be. As always, our goal will be to continue to provide timely and fair administration of justice for the public we serve.”

The bills – by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg; Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach; and Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami – passed the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice and the House’s Judiciary and Justice Appropriations subcommittees. They aim to accelerate circuit court adjudication, and include provisions to add five county and two circuit judges.

But critics say the proposed law would have the opposite effect: clogging circuit court dockets as big-dollar cases jump to higher courts on appeal. While few litigants raise appeals to pursue relatively small sums now before county courts, critics say bigger controversies will likely result in more dogged litigation.

In other words: Cases cleared from circuit dockets will make their way back to their courts’ appellate panels.

“At first blush it sounds like good news,” said William W. Large, president of Florida Justice Reform Institute, a Tallahassee-based think tank working on tort reform. “Unfortunately, the bill doesn’t contemplate or outline what to do with appellate issues.”

Large testified three times before legislators as part of the FJRI’s advocacy against the proposed law. His arguments hinge on insufficient resources at the county-court level, less experienced judges, and inconsistent rulings as courts across counties fail to follow the doctrine of stare decisis and adhere to each other’s prior rulings.

“Florida is best suited to have our appeals go to our district courts of appeal,” Large said. “It’s hard to give legal advice when your get different results from different panels. The beauty of appellate law is that it gives you the same result.”

https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2018/02/23/not-just-small-claims-county-courts-might-soon-handle-cases-up-to-50000/

PIP Car Insurance, Built to Curb Lawsuits, Spurs Record Pile Instead

February 22, 2018/in The Palm Beach Post

PIP car insurance, built to curb lawsuits, spurs record pile instead

AOB Chart

Feb 22, 2018
By Charles Elmore, Protecting Your Pocket

A no-fault car insurance system that was supposed to reduce lawsuits in Florida has instead produced an all-time high mountain of more than 60,000 of them in 2017, a new report shows.

AOB Chart

Source: Florida Justice Reform Institute report.

That represents a stunning rise of close to 50 percent in one year, according to data from The Florida Justice Reform Institute, a group that says it fights against wasteful litigation.

So are insurers rushing to tell legislators to repeal Florida’s Personal Injury Protection system before the session ends in early March? Guess again.

An insurance industry group never mentions PIP in itsstatement on the lawsuit report and has urged lawmakers to put off repeal another year.

Who benefits from keeping the current system? Florida’s top 25 car insurers have raised PIP rates up to 54 percent since the start of 2017, and on average hiked them 35 percent faster than overall premiums, The Palm Beach Post reported.

Florida drivers pay among the nation’s top six car insurance bills in one of the few states that retain a no-fault system. The state forces drivers to buy $10,000 of PIP to cover the driver’s own injuries in an accident regardless of who is at fault, no matter how much health insurance the consumer already has.

One of the justifications for PIP when it was created the 1970s was to reduce lawsuits after minor car accidents.

Almost half a century later, PIP’s relatively small benefit has hardly changed and in no way kept up with medical inflation, yet it is driving consumer rate increases and, in a final irony, leading the lawsuit parade.

Who’s suing? The lawsuits measured in the report are typically not filed by ordinary drivers but chiropractors, clinics, imaging centers and other medical providers suing insurers to get paid for PIP claims, researchers say.

PIP represents by far the largest source for a type of lawsuit that FJRI officials say is responsible for more than half of the state’s overall insurance litigation and is driving up consumer costs. It’s associated with an arrangement known as “assignment of benefits” or AOB.

It happens when third parties like a repair contractor or medical clinic tell consumers we’ll handle the claim for you if you sign this form assigning us the insurance benefit. It’s not uncommon in health care and other fields. Insurers say the trouble is, Florida’s laws provide too many incentives for some of the third parties take the insurers to court.

Yet you’d never know that PIP was involved in any way from an insurance industry group’s statement on the AOB lawsuit report. The focus is exclusively on property insurance claims representing about one-sixth as many suits compared to PIP, and auto windshield claims representing about a third as many. Insurers say these categories are growing, and PIP repeal must wait for reforms affecting lawyer fees that have stalled in the legislature for half a dozen years and seem likely to deadlock again.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of property and auto glass claims because one-way attorney fees are incentivizing AOB abuse,’’ said Logan McFaddin, the Florida-based regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. “Legislative reform is desperately needed to curtail the number of fake or inflated claims and lawsuits. Now is the time for legislators to protect Floridians from these bad actors and help reduce insurance costs.”

OK, but how about repealing PIP and lopping off the source of the majority of AOB suits in one stroke? Then pursue additional lawsuit reforms? At least two important insurance lobby groups in Tallahassee say no thanks.

The net effect: drivers keep paying rising premiums to insurers. A state-commissioned actuarial report said drivers could save up to $81 per car if Florida repealed PIP and required bodily-injury liability coverage. A bill that passed the House 88-15 would do that. Florida is one of only two states that do not require BI insurance to make drivers responsible for injuries to others.

A Senate PIP repeal bill remains stuck in committee as the session nears its end. Asked by a Post correspondent about the issue, Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, offered a recap of committee stops with no comment on whether leadership believes it merits further attention or a vote on the floor.

“That bill has moved through one committee in the process with a favorable vote and is now in health and human services appropriations (committee), so it would be up to that committee to decide whether they want to take up the bill in the final time we’re here for session,” Negron said last week. “The short answer would be it’s undetermined.”

Instead of championing a chance for driver savings, insurers put out their own report that said rates would go up 5.3 percent under the House bill. The report prepared by Milliman Inc. for PCI acknowledged it used unverified, unaudited data from a subset of member companies that could be “biased” and chose to ignore any savings from eliminating PIP fraud. A group representing trial attorneys blasted it as not credible and inconsistent with the state report and with consumer savings in other states that dropped no-fault systems, including Colorado and Georgia.

So what’s the story? Insurers raise rates up to 54 percent in a year for PIP. Then lobbyists claim late in the session that rates would also go up under the House repeal plan. They encourage legislators not to believe a state-commissioned actuarial report that said drivers could save an average of near 6 percent on their overall bills after PIP repeal.

Now a report shows PIP is responsible for most of the lawsuits insurers are complaining about. It’s the elephant in the room, the biggest part of the mountain.

But apparently it’s not fit for mention.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/personal-finance/pip-car-insurance-built-curb-lawsuits-spurs-record-pile-instead/3xqUo92kWjdWjeswEiT8dO/

PIP Lawsuits Explode to Record

February 22, 2018/in The Palm Beach Post

PIP lawsuits explode to record

By Charles Elmore – Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Palm Beach County Courthouse

More than 60,000 cases were filed in Florida courthouses in 2017 involving the state’s no-fault car insurance system, research shows.

Posted: 2:06 p.m. Friday, February 23, 2018

A no-fault car insurance system that was supposed to reduce lawsuits in Florida has instead produced a record mountain of more than 60,000 in 2017, a new report shows.

That represents a stunning rise of close to 50 percent in one year, according to data from The Florida Justice Reform Institute, a group that says it fights against wasteful litigation.

So are insurers rushing to tell legislators to repeal Florida’s Personal Injury Protection system before the session ends in early March? Guess again.

An insurance industry group never mentions PIP in its statement on the lawsuit report and has urged lawmakers to put off repeal another year.