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Metro. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Cent. Fla., LLP

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Nov 6, 2015
178 So. 3d 927 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2015)

Summary

In Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company v. Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, LLP, 178 So.3d 927 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), and Mercury Insurance Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D2364, 182 So.3d 661, 2015 WL 6022040 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 16, 2015), we have recently rejected this position and quashed identical orders.

Summary of this case from Progressive Select Ins. Co. v. Fla. Emergency Physicians

Opinion

No. 5D15–1769.

11-06-2015

METROPOLITAN CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, LLP, ETC, Respondent.

Michael M. Bell and Christian Anderson, of Bell & Roper, P.A., Orlando, for Petitioner. Dean A. Mitchell, Ocala, for Respondent.


Michael M. Bell and Christian Anderson, of Bell & Roper, P.A., Orlando, for Petitioner.

Dean A. Mitchell, Ocala, for Respondent.

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company seeks certiorari review of an order of the circuit court, sitting in its appellate capacity. The circuit court affirmed the county court's ruling that, under the PIP statute, a provider of emergency services, such as Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, LLP, that timely submits its bill within the thirty-day window contemplated by section 627.736(4)(c), Florida Statutes (2011), is entitled to have its bill paid, regardless of the existence of a deductible in the insured's insurance contract. Rejecting the position advocated by the healthcare provider, this Court recently quashed an identical order in Mercury Insurance Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D2364, 182 So.3d 661, 2015 WL 6022040 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 23, 2015), reasoning:

In sum, reading the two statutory provisions together leads to the inescapable conclusion that the $500 deductible was correctly applied to EPCF's $191 bill. The plain language of the two sections is not in conflict and provides that, where an emergency service provider submits its claims within the 30–day reserve period provided in section 627.736(4)(c), those claims will be prioritized for payment; however, any such payment will be subject to any deductibles that exist in the insurance contract between the insured and the insurer. Under these circumstances, it was a departure from the essential requirements of the law for the circuit court to affirm the county court's order.

Id. at D2366–67. As in Mercury Insurance, 182 So.3d 661, 2015 WL 6022040 we grant the writ and quash the circuit court's order.

CERTIORARI GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED.

ORFINGER, COHEN and EDWARDS, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Metro. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Cent. Fla., LLP

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Nov 6, 2015
178 So. 3d 927 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2015)

In Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company v. Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, LLP, 178 So.3d 927 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), and Mercury Insurance Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Central Florida, 40 Fla. L. Weekly D2364, 182 So.3d 661, 2015 WL 6022040 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 16, 2015), we have recently rejected this position and quashed identical orders.

Summary of this case from Progressive Select Ins. Co. v. Fla. Emergency Physicians
Case details for

Metro. Cas. Ins. Co. v. Emergency Physicians of Cent. Fla., LLP

Case Details

Full title:METROPOLITAN CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. EMERGENCY…

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

Date published: Nov 6, 2015

Citations

178 So. 3d 927 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2015)

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