When it comes to money that plaintiffs or their attorneys have to pay out of their pockets, some lawsuits never come to an end. And that’s what happened with a claim that started seven years ago.
Plaintiff attorneys are paid as much as $500 an hour for filing paperwork at the courthouse and filling in forms, United Automobile Insurance Co. (UAIC) uncovered in its research of court records.
But when those attorneys lose, they want the other side to receive less than $100 an hour. How surprising.
UAIC fought a 2003 accident claim in Broward County, Florida. The claimant, who was not insured by UAIC, sought Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage relating to an alleged accident. UAIC denied payment of PIP benefits after discovering the claimant herself owned two vehicles for which insurance was required. That led to a lawsuit in Broward County Court.
During litigation, plaintiff attorney William C. Ruggiero argued that one of the vehicles the claimant owned had been stolen and the other was inoperable, and as such, United was responsible for PIP coverage. Ruggeiro, whose law offices are in Fort Lauderdale, even filed an affidavit of the claimant’s daughter alleging the vehicle was inoperable.
UAIC discovered from the claimant herself that she did in fact own two vehicles, that neither had ever been stolen, and that both vehicles were in fine working condition. In fact, one of the vehicles was actively driven by her daughter, the person who signed the affidavit alleging the vehicle was inoperable.
After two long hearings on UAIC’s motion to dismiss the case, Broward County Court Judge Martin Dishowitz finally ruled in our favor.
UAIC then asked for payment of the attorney’s fees incurred while litigating the bogus claim. Ruggiero and his client once again made every argument possible to deny UAIC’s request. Judge Dishowitz ultimately dismissed the plaintiff’s arguments and granted entitlement to fees but challenged just how much UAIC’s defense attorney should be paid per hour.
A fee expert hired by Ruggeiro said that insurance defense attorneys usually get paid $85 to $150 per hour, with the average being $100 to $135 per hour.
UAIC argued that because its defense attorney had five years of experience defending PIP cases, the rate should be $250 to $350 per hour. Judge Dishowitz regularly awards plaintiff PIP attorneys with similar experience $250 to $350 per hour.
Judge Dishowitz made UAIC argue twice for why it should be paid and in the end only awarded $145 per hour. Was that a reasonable amount? It would be if the plaintiff attorneys were not asking for and being awarded $300 to $500 an hour. Somehow, those lawyers believe their time is more valuable than ours and the judges seem to believe that too. It is such a biased system.
