Florida Supreme Court Ruling Regarding UM Coverage In Favor of Policy Holders

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - March 31, 2014 - PRLog -- Contact
Gary M. Farmer, Jr. - Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L.
(954) 524-2820
Kim Sailer, BARD Marketing/PR
ksailer@bardmarketing.com

Florida Supreme Court Ruling Regarding UM Coverage In Favor of Policy Holders Considered of Great Importance.

Fort Lauderdale, FL – In a major victory for consumers on March 13, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court approved an earlier en banc decision by the Fifth District Court of Appeal in the matter of State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. v. Curran regarding an auto accident with an underinsured motorist resulting in a breach of contract and denial of coverage dispute. Thanks to the efforts of retired 4th DCA Judge Gary Farmer, Sr. and Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards, Fistos & Lehrman, P.L., insurance companies will no longer be permitted to employ certain impediments and barriers to insureds obtaining the insurance coverage for which they had paid premiums.

In Florida, every motor vehicle liability insurer in this State is statutorily mandated to offer uninsured motorist coverage unless the insured has expressly rejected the coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage is intended to protect policy holders who are legally entitled to recover damages for injuries caused by owners or operators of uninsured or underinsured motor vehicles. It was not designed for the benefit of insurance companies or motorists who cause damage to others. It is one of if not the most important coverages a consumer may and should purchase.

Our client Robin Curran, who had uninsured motorist coverage, was involved in a 2006 traffic accident where she was rear-ended by an underinsured motorist. Because of the accident and since it occurred, Ms. Curran suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, which has caused her severe pain and discomfort. Two independent doctors confirmed this diagnosis before the request by her insurance carrier State Farm that she see their doctor. During the time that State Farm was adjusting the claim issues arose regarding the scheduling of a compulsory medical examination (CME). Essentially, State Farm placed unreasonable conditions or demands on the request for a CME and refused reasonable requests by Ms. Curran’s trial counsel as to the CME.

The case proceeded to a jury trial in 2009, and the jury awarded Ms. Curran more than $4.6 million in damages and entered a judgment against State Farm for the $100,000 UM Policy Limits. State Farm then appealed the ruling to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The Fifth District Court of Appeal found that while State Farm did have the right to request a CME, Curran’s requested conditions regarding the CME were not unreasonable. The appeals court ruled that because State Farm failed to prove that Curran’s failure to appear at the CME caused prejudice to State Farm, the failure to appear did not result in forfeiture of her UM Benefits. State Farm ultimately appealed the case to the Florida Supreme Court.

The Florida Supreme Court accepted the case for review and affirmed the Fifth DCA’s en banc opinion, confirming that under Florida law for the insured’s failure to appear for a CME to void coverage the insurer must prove that the breach caused prejudice to the insurer in considering the claim. The Court also reconfirmed that because failure to appear for a CME or cooperate in the investigation of a claim is an affirmative defense, the party pleading the affirmative defense – the insurer - has the burden of producing evidence proving prejudice. Because the undisputed facts demonstrate that State Farm was not prejudiced, the Court conclude that it was unnecessary to remand the case for further proceedings relating to a determination on the question of prejudice.

“Our client did not refuse to submit to a CME but asserted a reasonable request to protect her own personal interests; something State Farm disregarded and deferred.” said appellate attorney Gary M. Farmer, Sr. “This is an important win for consumers faced with insurance company abusive tactics and their attempts to rely on gotcha tactics to deny coverage to their policy holders.”

Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards & Lehrman, P.L., a Fort Lauderdale Litigation firm, focuses on Consumer Class Actions, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, and Whistleblower Suits (qui tam). The firm is headquartered at 425 N. Andrews Avenue, Suite 2 and may be reached at (800) 400-1098 or (954) 524-2820. Additional information about Gary Farmer, Sr. or Farmer, Jaffe, Weissing, Edwards & Lehrman, P.L. may be obtained from the firm’s website at http://www.pathtojustice.com.