By FLORIDA DAILY – 10.22.18 A new report shows excessive litigation has cost Florida almost $12 billion and more than 126,000 jobs. On Monday, the Florida Justice Reform Institute (FJRI) released “Economic Benefits of Tort Reform” which maintains that “excessive litigation is costing Florida’s economy over $11.8 billion in lost productivity and over 126,000 fewer jobs.” The […]
Fla. High Court Rejects Law That Mandated Daubert By Nathan Hale Law360 (October 15, 2018, 10:32 PM EDT) — The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that a 2013 law that mandated use of the Daubert standard for screening expert witness testimony infringed on the court’s rulemaking authority, and reinstated an $8 million verdict for a […]
By William W. Large | October 2, 2018 Two recent decisions from the Florida Supreme Court that reversed rulings by the same District Court of Appeal will have a serious impact on the insurance industry. The consequential rulings came on Sept. 20, 2018 in the cases of Harvey v. GEICO General Insurance Co., and Odom v. R.J. […]
OUR VIEW : Put the brakes on PIP abuse A Deland intersection [News-Journal: LOLA GOMEZ] Posted Oct 1, 2018 at 2:00 AM Updated Oct 1, 2018 at 2:31 AM Who suffers most? People with legitimate injuries, home damage or significant handicaps. Too often, important consumer protections are threatened by greed. Consider the ever-growing number […]
No-fault insurer prevails in attempted class action over Medicare reimbursement Michael Moline – September 26, 2018 A state appeals court has rejected a class action filed by a Medicare Advantage organization seeking double reimbursements for its costs of providing care that should have been covered by a no-fault auto insurer. In a unanimous ruling, the […]
Allstate, Progressive, State Farm group calls out law firms driving up insurance costs by Lyle Adriano 24 Sep 2018 With small claims cases in Florida spiraling out of control, a group of insurers is looking to confront the law firms who are thought to be contributing to the rise of insurance costs in the […]
SMALL CLAIMS, BIG IMPACTS: Surge in lawsuits drives up costs for Volusia-Flagler motorists Lawyers Keith Petrochko, left, and Todd Migacz make their arguments before Judge A. Christian Miller at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand last month. Petrochko works for the Davila Law Group while Migacz represents Windhaven Insurance which is being sued by […]
State Supreme Court building in Tallahassee, Florida. Supreme Court reinstates $8.5M verdict against Geico By Michael Moline on September 20, 2018 A closely divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a bad faith judgment against Geico Insurance, concluding in a 4-3 decision that the insurer had improperly exposed a policyholder to an $8.5 million judgment in a wrongful death action. Writing for the majority, […]
Florida Supreme Court justices deal blow to insurer in ‘bad faith’ dispute Today’s ruling in a Palm Beach County case centered on how GEICO handled a claim involving customer James Harvey, who was found at fault in an August 2006 auto accident that killed John Potts. Harvey had $100,000 in coverage under a GEICO […]
JUSTICES DEAL BLOW TO INSURER IN ‘BAD FAITH’ DISPUTE Jim Saunders Sep 20, 2018 TALLAHASSEE — In a case stemming from a fatal car accident a dozen years ago, a sharply divided Florida Supreme Court on Thursday backed a jury’s conclusion that GEICO General Insurance Co. acted in “bad faith” in the way it handled […]