Posts Tagged ‘South Florida’

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Why doesn’t Florida Bar punish auto insurance plaintiff attorney?

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Michael Ira Libman violated the Rules of Professional Conduct. The attorney regularly kicked back a percentage of his legal fees to a non-lawyer business. Why wasn’t he punished? And what does the Florida Bar’s lack of discipline tell other attorneys about how to conduct themselves?

Libman had a secret deal with Continental Provider Services, a non-lawyer business that prepared legal pleadings and/or documents for him that he then billed as his own work at an hourly rate of up to $450 per hour.

United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC) shared this information with the Florida Bar. The Bar’s investigation confirmed the facts and confirmed that such behavior by Mr. Libman violated Rule 4-5.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and was worthy of discipline.

One might expect that he would be fined, reprimanded, suspended, or possibly disbarred. Instead, the Bar issued a “Report of No Probable Cause and Letter of Advice” to Libman. The same Michael Ira Libman who once bragged, “You know all our cases are phony and we bribe the judges.”

In the latest Libman transgression, the Bar accused UAIC of having a bias in pursuit of the grievance. UAIC uncovered the unethical conduct, obtained the necessary affidavits and evidence to support the allegations, and submitted the documents to the Bar.

Of course UAIC had a bias against Libman.  If UAIC didn’t believe Libman was unethical, it wouldn’t have submitted the complaint.  Doesn’t every person filing a complaint to the Florida Bar have a bias against the lawyer they are complaining about?

Was it that Libman had an explanation for his unethical actions? No. Was it that mitigating circumstances somehow excused his unethical behavior? No. To date, the Bar has offered no explanation why it issued no discipline whatsoever in this matter, other than that the complainant was biased.

The Bar’s lack of action is troubling to say the least. It sends a message to every attorney in the state that it’s OK to cheat and lie. If your client or others paying your bills complain, just argue that they are biased. If independent investigators catch you red-handed, relax. The Bar won’t take action.

It’s a disgrace.

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PIP party in poor taste for Florida doctors, lawyers

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
How low can you go? When a group of doctors and lawyers put on a party that glorifies car crash injuries, there is no bottom.  The first “PIP Thursdays” cocktail party event was held at the Blue Martini lounge in Fort Lauderdale in early August.

The organizers and attendees — many of whom were doctors and lawyers — showed no class in celebrating accidents that leave people injured or worse. There were almost 236,000 crashes resulting in 2,563 fatalities in 2009 on Florida roads. There is no justification for turning those tragedies into an excuse for what organizers call social networking.

The lack of taste was visible in the invitation: A tanned, young brunette in a racy blue dress appeared in the foreground with pictures of an accident-damaged car, ambulance and scales of justice in the background above a filled martini glass. The invitation touted “PIP Thursdays” as the “hottest new social networking group for professionals in the business….Come and meet the biggest and best players in personal injury care in the State of Florida”.

Yes, you read it right.  These doctors and lawyers call themselves “players”.  It’s unbelievable what PIP has turned into in the State of Florida.

The invitation and event caught the eye of Sun-Sentinel Insurance Writer Julie Patel.  Her House Keys blog post reported that about 40 people, mostly legal and medical professionals, attended.  We were pleased to read on the Sun-Sentinel blog that the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud put the postcard on its Facebook page and brought copies of it to a state-sponsored roundtable on PIP fraud. We were not surprised to see that the party organizers did not respond to the newspaper’s calls and e-mails. They are too busy out “playing”.

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No ‘PIP time machine’ for auto insurance claim, says Miami-Dade court

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Been in a car accident? No insurance policy? No problem. At least that is one driver’s thought when she bought insurance from United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC) after her daughter was injured in a collision.

Now, more than four years and seven months later, a Miami-Dade County circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity, says that county court judge Teretha Thomas erred when she found a UAIC adjuster could promise coverage despite there being no insurance policy in effect.

A driver was involved in an accident on Dec. 7, 2005, at 7:55 a.m., in which her daughter was a passenger, according to court records. At 10:23 a.m., the driver purchased an insurance policy with UAIC. The next day, the daughter began receiving treatment for injuries allegedly received in the accident, and made a claim for payment through UAIC.

When the medical provider submitted the bill, UAIC did not pay and was sued. When the provider’s attorney, Todd A. Landau, took the deposition of UAIC’s claims adjuster, that person erroneously said the company had no issue with regard to coverage.

Landau argued to Judge Thomas that the adjuster’s testimony meant UAIC had no objection to paying the claim. The judge agreed and ordered a judgment before the lawsuit went to trial.

UAIC appealed and three circuit court judges sitting in their appellate capacity agreed that UAIC never promised to pay the medical bills. The judges unanimously ruled that while insurance coverage cannot be forfeited, it also cannot be created where it doesn’t exist. And any agreement to change the effective date – or time – of coverage cannot come after a lawsuit is filed.

It’s obvious to us that any responsible driver that you should have insurance before you get behind the wheel. You cannot force an insurance company to pay for an accident when no insurance policy was purchased or in effect. That’s plain common sense.

The appellate court agreed with our reasoning and granted UAIC’s motion for attorney fees. The court found the appeal was frivolous as there was no reasonable basis in fact or law to uphold Landau’s argument that coverage should exist despite no insurance policy being in effect. Landau wrote a check to UAIC for $15,250.

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Appeals court overturns verdict that gave big payoff to plaintiff attorney

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The fee faucet from which so many plaintiff attorneys drink has been reduced to a potential trickle by the appellate division of Miami-Dade County circuit court. Before attorneys sue auto insurance companies over Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims, they must make clear beforehand what their client wants, said the court in a July 1, 2010, opinion authored by Judge Mark King Leban.

The court showed excellent common and financial sense. There is no reason that an attorney should pocket $13,000 when suing for two bucks.

In handing down a unanimous decision, the court said the only motivation for the lawsuit was attorney fees. The court told the county court judge to look at the lawsuit again, deny the plaintiff attorney her fees, and dismiss the complaint.

The case began after a United Automobile Insurance Co. (UAIC) policyholder was injured in a car accident in 2004. Fourteen months after UAIC paid her medical bills, her attorney, Maria Corredor, sent a letter saying that additional money was owed, but did not state how much.  Four months later Corredor filed suit, and only then did she explain that her client was seeking $2.53 in alleged overdue interest.

Corredor is a regular player in the plaintiff PIP bar.  When UAIC surveyed PIP plaintiff attorneys who sought the highest legal fees, the company found that she charged and was regularly awarded $400 an hour. She had every incentive to sue rather than write UAIC and ask for the tiny amount owed.

Without a trial, Miami-Dade county court judge Robin Faber awarded the plaintiff a total of $2.53 and gave Corredor $13,370.25 in fees and costs, plus interest.

The amounts made no sense – legally or economically – so UAIC appealed. Ridiculous fee awards like this one just encourage more plaintiff attorneys to bring frivolous suits in hopes of a big payday.

A panel of three Miami-Dade circuit judges acting in their appellate capacity agreed with UAIC in a 15-page opinion.  Had the plaintiff and her lawyer sent a letter specifying exactly how much was owed, “no lawsuit would have been filed, nor any judgment entered for such a paltry amount, nor any award for attorney’s fees for such a conscience-of-the-court shockingly large amount,” the court wrote in its opinion.

The judges then absolved UAIC of any wrongdoing.

“In the case at bar, there was no wrongful conduct by United,” they wrote in their opinion. The company paid the medical providers 14 months before Corredor sent her vague letter demanding more money. And her client waited 18 months after the medical providers cashed their checks to sue.

The court also said that county courtrooms should not entertain lawsuits for trivial dollar amounts. The court cited a Florida Supreme Court decision from 1858 in which a case was dismissed because the amount involved was a small (“de minimis”) amount between $9 and $11.  In the UAIC case, the judges wrote, “One wonders how ‘de minimis’ an amount for which an insured/provider will repair to the court for redress: $1.23? $0.25? A nickel?”

The answer is 17 cents, as reported in this blog. The good news is that the courts are running out of patience with plaintiff lawyers who waste the time and money of taxpayers and insured drivers. One can only hope that judges in Miami-Dade county courts and beyond heed the wise words in this court decision.

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Suspicious accidents, PIP claims soar in Florida, National Insurance Crime Bureau says

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

The number of suspicious auto accidents that were staged or deliberately caused by criminals in Florida has increased dramatically in the past year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The independent organization said on June 29, 2010, the number of questionable claims submitted to its insurance company members shows a 58 percent jump from 2008 to 2009.

This comes to no surprise to those of us at United Automobile Insurance Co. (UAIC) who fight insurance fraud every day. We see fake accidents and fake injuries all the time.

The report, shows the following trends in Florida:

  • Tampa had 487 questionable claims related to staged or caused accidents in 2009, a 290 percent increase over the previous year.
  • Miami had 258 questionable claims, an 11 percent increase year to year.
  • Orlando had 240 questionable claims, a 24 percent increase.

South Florida was the hotbed of staged crashes, according to the bureau. While the Miami and Hialeah areas continue to show increased activity, criminals have moved north and Tampa Bay is now the center of this crime trend.

The number of questionable claims for all insurance fraud increased 15 percent from 2008 to 2009 in Florida. But the 58 percent jump in the staged accident category shows that criminals are taking advantage of the state’s no-fault auto accident coverage, the bureau said. Florida had the highest rates of fraud in both bodily injury and personal injury protection among states with no-fault insurance.

We have been telling legislators, regulators and law enforcement officials for years that Florida is the epicenter of PIP fraud. Now we have the numbers to back that up.

To combat the problem, the bureau created a task force in South Florida in 2002. The success of the program pushed criminals to Tampa and Orlando areas. Staying in pursuit, the bureau will soon open another major medical fraud task force in Tampa.

The bureau has launched a public awareness campaign in the Tampa Bay area, using billboard and bus shelter ads, as well as radio spots to urge people who suspect a staged accident scheme to call 1-800-TEL-NICB or text their information to TIP411, keyword “fraud.”

We urge every driver in the Tampa Bay area and around the state to report fraud when you see it. You will be bringing criminals to justice and could see your insurance premiums drop if we all do enough to stamp out fake claims.

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Attorney tries to dodge fees when PIP lawsuit goes bad

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

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.

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Staged accidents put Florida at top of scammer list

Friday, June 25th, 2010

It comes to no surprise to us that Florida leads the nation in phony accident claims. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says that these types of rip-offs increased 46 percent between 2007 and 2009.

Florida was the leader with 3,006 staged accidents over the two-year period. Tampa was the worst city for fraud, followed by Miami and Orlando.

The Miami CBS affiliate reports that the problem is huge in South Florida. The video report shows how unsuspecting drivers can become victims of fraud.

And the South Florida Sun-Sentinel quoted the NICB report as saying, “Staged accidents are dangerous criminal events that target innocent drivers with increasingly bold schemes aimed at defrauding insurance companies out of millions of dollars. Unless someone becomes suspicious, many of these staged accidents go undetected.”

We have long been suspicious of these type of accidents, and of the claims filed by medical service providers. As we previously reported, people will recruit insured drivers to fake accidents so that bogus Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims can be filed. In these cases, the people involved never suffer any injury and never see a doctor or receive medical treatment.

The rise in staged accidents means insurance premiums are also going up. Insurance companies like ours must pass along the costs to safe, honest drivers. Part of the solution is stronger law enforcement. This year, the Florida Department of Financial Services worked with NICB and local police to arrest 27 people who were charged in faking accidents and medical claims.

The other step that’s needed: legal reform. The Florida legislature must make it harder for drivers and medical clinics to set up phony schemes. And the state must eliminate the financial incentives for plaintiff attorneys to sue when claims are not paid. Right now, the clinics and attorneys have all to gain and little to lose when an insurance company challenges their claims. Until there are strong deterrents to fraud, Florida drivers will continue to pay for drivers, clinics and lawyers who cheat.

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Jury finds fraud in PIP lawsuit in Miami-Dade County court

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

The injury claims were fake. The medical treatment was not needed. And the plaintiff was not even at the accident. So said a Miami-Dade County jury on January 28, 2010, when it tackled a big problem in local courts: Personal Injury Protection fraud.

The jury’s finding was a great victory for justice and Florida drivers that the jury saw through the lies presented in court. The decision shows that the fight against fraudulent PIP claims is finding support in the justice system.

Silver Chiropractic in Miami had sued UAIC in Miami-Dade County court for PIP payment on behalf of Cassandra Smith. She had signed over her claims, a common practice in PIP lawsuits. Attorney Christian Carrazana, of Panter, Panter & Sampedro in Miami, had argued for payment – and his fees – for injuries that Smith supposedly suffered in a car accident. Carrazana represented Cassandra Smith, (UAIC insured whose vehicle Ms. Smith was allegedly in), and the clinic, Silver Chiropractic.

The jury was not deceived. It told the court that Smith had submitted fraudulent claims because the evidence showed she was not involved in the accident. As a result, the jury found that none of the medical treatment allegedly rendered by Silver Chiropractic to Smith was payable.

Florida drivers pay PIP premiums to cover their accident-related medical bills up to $10,000, but many claims are fraudulent. Florida’s Office of the Department of Insurance Regulation has stated that more than 80 percent of all automobile accident injury claims are in fact falsified or overstated in some way.

The problem of PIP fraud is becoming greater, says the Florida’s Division of Insurance Fraud. It reported last August that PIP fraud jumped 41 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 2009. Much of the increase was due to staged accidents, which investigators said is “one of the most lucrative vehicle fraud schemes perpetrated in the insurance industry.”

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South Florida plaintiff attorneys rack up big hourly fees

Monday, February 8th, 2010

South Florida’s county courts have become the home of the big payday for attorneys who file lawsuits related to personal injury protection (PIP) claims. An analysis of court records by United Automobile Insurance Company (UAIC) shows that a couple of lawyers in Miami-Dade County now command $500 an hour for filing legal paperwork. In Broward County, a dozen attorneys get paid $400 an hour for lawsuits.

The hourly rates put some attorneys on the same level as South Florida lawyers who perform multimillion-dollar mergers or handle sales on properties worth tens of millions of dollars. The difference: PIP lawyers sometimes sue for as little as $2.59 for their clients. And in many instances, the lawsuits seek payment on medical treatment related to a fender bender.

Plaintiff attorneys in PIP cases have turned consumer protection into a professional money machine. Time and time again firms like UAIC object in court to these fees because ultimately all drivers pay those expenses. Sadly, not enough judges can be convinced that these fees are out of line.

The UAIC fee study found that about 39 Miami-Dade attorneys have obtained the OK from county judges to charge $400, or more, per hour. Another 48 attorneys received $300 to $375 an hour. (See list below.)

The situation is similar in Broward County. There, UAIC found 15 lawyers who had received court approval to charge $400 an hour when they filed lawsuits related to PIP claims. Another 25 lawyers received $300 to $375 an hour. (See list below.)

Even if the lawsuit is for a small amount, an attorney will sometimes bill 100 hours or more and judges will award them $35,000 to $45,000, UAIC found. The county courts have a jurisdictional limit of $15,000, yet judges will freely award attorneys fees well in excess of this amount.

UAIC has seen fee awards in PIP cases in excess of $100,000 when the benefits recovered were only a couple thousand of dollars. This phenomenon of inexplicable attorney fee awards has fueled the fraud and abuse that permeates the PIP system.

** HOURLY BILLING RATES FOR ATTORNEYS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT**

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $500.00

Marlene Reiss

Michael L. Silverstein

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $475.00

Bernard H. Butts, Jr.

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $450.00

Bartram Billbrough

Carlos A. Lopez

Michael I. Libman

Stuart L. Koenigsberg

Virginia Best

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $425.00

Amado A. Alvarez

Gary A. Friedman

John S. Seligman

Michael Feldman

Juan Montes

Kevin Whitehead

Marc Goldman

Michael Feldman

Stuart B. Yanofsky

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $400.00

Daniel L. Kaufman

DeWayne Terry

Gabriel Sanchez

Anthony L. Tolgyesi

Brian Rodier

Carlos A. Lopez-Albear

Jacinto Gonzalez

Jeannie Jontiff

Jose Iglesia

Kenneth B. Shurr

Kenneth Dorchak

Kevin Whitehead

Mari Sampedro-Iglesia

Mark D. Feinstein

Mark Feldman

Richard E. Doherty

Rina Kaplan

Robert A. Trilling

Russel Lazega

Scott Jontiff

Steven Singer

Stuart B. Yanofsky

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $375.00

Fernando F. Freire

Frank Allocca

Frederick W. Hoethke

Gregg Pessin

James D. Payer

Jeffrey S. Altman

Jon Freeman

Jonathan Friedland

Martin Berger

Michael Kaplan

Michael Leader

Neil Gonzalez

Sadie Naveo

Spencer Morgan

Thomas J. Morgan

Todd Landau

Valerie Manno

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $350.00

Lourdes Alvarez

Donald Kerner

Armando Brana

Christian Carrazana

Cornel D. Williams

Dagmar Llaudy

George A. David

Gladys Cardenas

Ivan M. Tobias

Jeffrey G. Hess

John C. Llarena

Julie Terry

Kevin D. Mercer

Lisa Sanders

Lisa-Ann Gordon

Peter DePrimo

R. Brian Boyd

Rita Baez

Robert Seitz

Stephen A. Cameron

Stephen S. Nuell

Todd Link

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $310.00 to $325.00

Sebastian Lissa

Kertch J. Conze

Travis Greene

Eric Shapiro

Miami-Dade attorneys, hourly rate: $300.00

Craig Blinderman

Deborah A. Green

Jose A. Yanez

Meena M. Lopez

Patricia Saintvil-Joseph

** HOURLY BILLING RATES FOR ATTORNEYS IN BROWARD COUNTY COURT**

Broward attorneys, hourly rate: $400.00

Adolfo Podrecca

Amir Fleischer

Charles J. Kane

Cris E. Boyar

Gary Marks

Harley Kane

Jay Spechler

Joseph R. Dawson

Laura M. Watson

Marc Finkelstein

Mary Margaret-Monk

Michael Bendell

Michele Muir

Paul A. Adams

William Ruggiero

Broward attorneys, hourly rate: $375.00

Andrew J. Weinstein

Angela Cohn

Nichole Pacella

Paul S. Adams

Robert Stein

Robert Bradford, Jr.

Keith Schafer

Steven Ainbinder

Steven Lander

Broward attorneys, hourly rate: $350.00

David M. Spitz

Douglas  Harrison

Emilio R. Stillo

Nathan J. Avrunin

Nicole R. Malick

Rafael I. Katz

Broward attorneys, hourly rate: $325.00

Brian H. Malamud

Caroline Perlegas

Mark P. Mullen

Michael Fischetti

Steve Phillips

Timothy A. Patrick

Helen Stratigakos

Broward attorneys, hourly rate: $300.00

Chris Pole

Vanessa Casullo

Kathy Eikosidekas

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Car accident lawsuit in Broward court seeks $2.59 even after all PIP benefits paid

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

The car accident injury claims were filed. The insurance company made payments to the limit of Florida law for personal injury protection (PIP). So what happened next? A Fort Lauderdale attorney filed a lawsuit for $2.59.

And that’s the way it is in Broward County, where attorney Steven Lander of Lander & Goldman in Fort Lauderdale is suing United Auto Insurance Company (United Auto) on behalf of his client.

This is yet another instance of plaintiff attorneys seeking petty amounts for their clients and big legal fees for themselves. This abuse of the legal system makes insurance coverage more expensive for drivers and misuse precious court time. Judges, court clerks and insurance companies waste their time and money dealing with civil charges that do little for the insured and everything for their attorneys.

What makes this case incomprehensible is that United Auto had paid the full limit of PIP benefits. Basic PIP benefits cover 80 percent of an injured person’s medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to a maximum of $10,000. In the case of Lander’s client, United Auto had issued two payments equaling the $10,000 figure before the lawsuit was filed.

The client, which does business as C&R Imaging of Hollywood, claims that its benefits were improperly reduced. How is this possible? Lander does not explain this in court papers.  All he says in the initial filing is that United Auto breached its contract to provide benefits.

The dispute is headed to a pre-trial conference, which may put an end to the matter.  But, what’s left unresolved is why such petty claims get filed. Who has the greater motivation to sue in this case, the MRI clinic that’s seeking $2.59 or an attorney who charges about $375 an hour for his services? And why haven’t the courts – and the Florida legislature – done more to clear the courts of this type of mess?

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