Palm Beach County PIP lawsuit and attorney's fees

Will my insurance company have to pay my attorney fees when I have to file a lawsuit against my PIP insurer?

No need to worry about your attorney fees because if you prevail in your PIP claim, you will be able to recover attorney fees. The court can award attorney fees even if they exceed the amount in controversy. Also, the court can award attorney fees if the insurance company contests whether a plaintiff’s lawyer is entitled to fees for the time the plaintiff’s lawyer spends on pursuing the disputed fee claim. However, if the insurance company admits that the attorney is entitled to fees but disputes the amount, the plaintiff’s lawyer is not allowed the fee for the time spent on pursuing the disputed amount. Lugassy v. Independent Fire Insurance Co., 636 So.2d 1332 (Fla. 1994). Of course, you can also recover attorneys’ fees for any presuit work done because of the insurer failing to reasonably deny a claim. An interesting point is that regardless of the insurer’s action to settle the claim, attorney fees will still be awarded based on their denial prior to a suit being filed. Brown v. Vermont Mutual Insurance Co., 614 So.2d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). So, if the insurer decides to settle your claim with you anytime after you file suit and you agree, they will also have to cough up attorney fees. To determine who is recognized as the prevailing party for the purpose of awarding attorney fees, there have been some recent cases that have interpreted this issue. These cases have decided that whoever prevails on the significant issues before the court is considered as the prevailing party, and will be awarded attorneys fees. Moritz v. Hoyt Enterprises, Inc., 604 So.2d 807 (Fla. 1992). Often times, you will find that the insurance company will make a very low offer to someone that has been injured. Florida courts have ruled that if there is a judgment that exceeds any offer of settlement previously offered by the insurer, the insured or beneficiary is entitled to attorney fees. Danis Industries Corp. v. Ground Improvement Techniques, Inc., 654 So.2d 420 (Fla. 1994). However, insured’s that do not recover more than the insurer’s offer of settlement are still entitled to attorney fees, as long as the insured is awarded some recovery. Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. DeSalvo, 748 So.2d 941 (Fla. 1999). It seems that the court system has tried to level the playing field against intimidation by insurers with the rulings in the cases that have decided when attorney fees may be recovered. Otherwise, insurance carriers would widen the tremendous advantage they already possess over the little guy.