A dive shop in South Florida is one of the first businesses in the state to file suit against its insurer for the denial of a business interruption claim initiated because of the current coronavirus pandemic.
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Tag Archives: Florida
Florida Dive Shop Alleges Insurer Breach of Contract, Bad Faith in BI Denial Suit
Filed under Uncategorized
UPDATE: Jacksonville Roofer Pleads Guilty and Pays Back Homeowner in Clay County
Jacksonville roofer Roger Van Den Bosch has paid back one Clay County homeowner and pleaded guilty to first-degree misdemeanor trespassing. He resolved a separate Duval County case, pleading guilty to four felonies, and agreeing to pay back the customers fully. Van Den Bosch and his company Kinnecorps still face a civil lawsuit from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Click here to read the article. (Previous post)
Filed under Fraud, Property (Homeowners)
Tallahassee Doctor Accused of Billing Insurers for Phony Medical Procedures
Dr. Moses D. Degraft-Johnson of the Heart and Vascular Institute of Northern Florida in Tallahassee is accused of taking $26 million from health insurance agencies for phony medical procedures. According to federal prosecutors, Dr. Degraft-Johnson allegedly went to hospitals, scheduled patients for unnecessary visits, and billed for the services that never occurred. In some cases, the doctor was traveling when he claims to have done procedures in his office.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
FL Insurance Industry Pushes for Lawsuit Abuse Reform in 2020 Legislative Session
Florida’s insurance industry and consumer advocates are pushing lawmakers to consider reforms that would curb lawsuit abuses that clog the state’s legal system and hurt insurers’ bottom lines. During the last legislative session, lawmakers for passed AOB reform legislation that has led to lower rates for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation policyholders. Governor Ron DeSantis urged Florida lawmakers to target other lawsuit abuses.
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Filed under Legislation
Insurance Bills to Watch for the 2020 Legislative Session in Florida
Several key insurance-related bills were introduced in this year’s Legislative Session, including reform for auto glass (windshield), assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse, reforms to the state’s legal system, and changes to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
Here are a few more bills to keep an eye on:
- CS/SB 292: Insurance Claims Data
- SB 898/HB 529: Insurance Guaranty Associations
- HB 329/SB 540: Insurance Guaranty Associations
- HB 359: Insurance (General)
- SB 378: Motor Vehicle Insurance (Personal Injury Protection)
- HB 771: Motor Vehicle Insurance (Personal Injury Protection)
- HB 895: Insurance
- SB 904: Sinkhole and Catastrophic Ground Cover Collapse Insurance
- HB 963/SB 1670: Consumer Data Privacy
- HB 1137/SB 1492: Consumer Protection
- SB 1204: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
- Senate Joint Resolution 1460: Commissioner of Insurance
- SB 1494: Insurance Coverage for Condominium Unit Owners
- HB359/SB 1334: Financial Services
Click here to read the article.
Filed under Legislation
Weston Doctor Sentenced for Conspiring to Illegally Distribute Oxycodone
Dr. Rodolfo Gonzalez Garcia was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiring to dispense oxycodone, a charge to which he had previously pled guilty. Dr. Gonzalez Garcia and his co-defendants, including his wife Arlene Gonzalez, admitted to using a Hialeah medical office to provide prescriptions for the controlled substance, even though he did not conduct meaningful examinations to prescribe oxycodone appropriately. Dr. Gonzalez Garcia referred to himself as “El Chapo of Oxycodone.”
Co-defendants Arlene Gonzalez and Annie Suarez-Gonzalez pled guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks. They were sentenced to 4 months in prison and one year of probation each. Co-defendant Fidel Marrero-Castellanos pled guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison. The co-defendants were ordered to pay a total of $26,306 in restitution.
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Filed under Fraud, Healthcare
Insurance and Tort Case Law Update Published in Trial Advocate
Check out the Insurance and Tort Case Law Update by Tampa Partner, Miguel Roura and John Miller (Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A.) published in FDLA’s Trial Advocate.
The Insurance and Tort Case Law Update was originally presented by Miguel and John at the 2019 Florida Liability Claims Conference.
Click here for FDLA’s Trial Advocate.
Filed under Firm News, Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
Florida Officials Arrested for Allegedly Bilking FEMA
Lynn Haven’s former City Manager Michael White and former community services director David Horton were arrested and charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money. Erosion Control Specialists owner David White and employee Shannon Rodriguez, and Greenleaf Lawn Care owner Joshua Anderson were arrested as well.
According to U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe, the former Lynn Haven officials approved false invoices from Erosion Control and Greenleaf for work they performed, including wrapping presents, preparing a site for a Halloween party, and cleaning the private homes of several city officials. The officials approved payments to the companies and then sought reimbursement from FEMA. The 35-count indictment includes charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, theft and honest services fraud.
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Filed under Fraud, Hurricanes
Florida Panhandle Struggles to Recover from Hurricane Michael
Thousands are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle. The Category 5 storm left 22,000 of Bay County’s residents homeless and few affordable living spaces available. With nearly $7 billion in total insurance losses, about 1 in 6 insurance claims remain unresolved. There is reportedly a mental health crisis and a shortage of healthcare professionals as well.
Click here to read the article.
Filed under Hurricanes, Property (Homeowners)
Florida Lawyer Collects Almost $1M in Fake Lawsuit Settlements
A Davie lawyer, Stuart Finkelstein, was arrested on Tuesday for collecting nearly $1M by filing over 300 unauthorized lawsuits on behalf of disabled Americans in New York and Florida. Finkelstein allegedly stole the identities of two individuals and filed lawsuits claiming they were unable to access public establishments that they had never tried to go in. Neither of the people had ever hired Finklestein as an attorney to represent them.
Finkelstein made false representations to small businesses, obstructed official judicial proceedings, and then settled the fake lawsuits to collect about $930,000 in attorney fees. Micheline Gaulin, a restaurant owner in Manhattan’s West Village, told the NY Post that she paid over $18,000 in a settlement to Finklestein in which she called “a legal shakedown.”
Click here to read the story. (Subscription required)
Filed under Fraud