April 29, 2024 | Legal Alerts

Florida Supreme Court Rules on Billed Amount

On April 25, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in Allstate Insurance Company, et. al, v. Revival Chiropractic, LLC, SC2022-0735.    More than a year after oral argument, the Court finally and definitively ruled on “Billed Amount” concluding “…the provisions of both the statute and the policy support Allstate’s payment of 80% of the amount of the charges submitted.”  Id.  Although Revival made its way to the Florida Supreme Court by way of certified question posed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit, the Billed Amount issue has pervaded Florida state courts and PIP suits for well over half a decade.  As expressed by the Court, “the question for decision is whether the insurer here may pay 80% of a charge submitted by a provider even when that reimbursement amount is less than the amount that would be reimbursable under the limitations of the statutory schedule of maximum charges.”  In no uncertain terms, the Court found the Allstate policy expressly authorized such a payment and nothing in the PIP statute prevented payment in accordance with Allstate’s policy.  

April 12, 2024 | Verdicts and Settlements

Summary Judgment Secured in Engineering Services Case Not Covered Under Policy

Noelia Vaccaro, an attorney in the firm’s first party practice group prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a case involving the services of an engineer the insured retained after reporting the loss. She argued that the services the plaintiff performed were not covered under the policy because defendant did not constitute a cost to repair or replace the damaged property, as the plaintiff merely prepared a report that contained no narrative — i.e., no observations, analysis, conclusions, or recommendations — and, instead, consisted primarily of photographs.

April 2, 2024 | Verdicts and Settlements

Tallahassee Attorneys Secure Summary Judgment in a Premises Liability Case

Joshua C. Canton, managing partner of the firm's Tallahassee, Florida office, along with Justin B. Hales, an associate in the firm’s Tallahassee, Florida office, recently prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in a premises liability case in Wakulla County,  Florida where they successfully argued the Defendant breached no duty owed to the Plaintiff and the cause of the subject incident was an unforeseeable “Act of God”.

March 15, 2024 | Verdicts and Settlements

Seth Goldberg Obtains Defense Verdict in Slip and Fall Case

Seth Goldberg, a partner in our Hollywood office, recently obtained a Defense Verdict in a slip and fall case in Broward County, Florida. Plaintiff alleged he slipped and fell down the exterior stairs, in the rain, at the apartment complex where he had lived for over a year before the fall. The Defendants owned and maintained the property. The Plaintiff testified that he did not hold onto the available handrail as he descended the steps. Plaintiff alleged his fall was caused by the exterior light that illuminated the stairwell being out on the evening of the fall and the construction of the steps violated the applicable building codes when they were built in 1990.