Been trying to get EDR data on an uber case we have since September. Two compels granted. last night some associate emailed and said the car was sold. I said we’re going to need a copy of bill of sale showing when it was sold and if it was after September that’s a big problem The partner responds that at worst it’ll be an instruction that’ll have no bearing on the case I suppose that’s one way to look at it!
we just signed up a pedestrian case that another firm dropped. i talked to an assistant there, who is maybe the dumbest person i've ever encountered in this profession. she could barely string two words together, but i guess they dropped her because the adjuster told her that the insured has 30 days to contact them about a claim and the deadline was march 20th and they didn't want to mess with it. there is a police report that puts the car at fault ummm what?
dealing with a similar thing on the defense side. sent a November 2024 letter to counsel requesting, among other things, he preserve his clients vehicle for inspection. Prior to that, we received a preservation letter from counsel's office. We immediately worked with our expert to preserve our client's tractor and trailer before repairs were performed. In mid-December, I get an email from an assistant at claimant's counsel saying she'd assist with inspecting claimant's vehicle. I immediately respond. Weeks later (early January), I am told the vehicle has been sold and salvaged. I get the info of the salvage company. They say the car was sold on 12/31. So now I am trying to confirm when they took possession from the claimant. If it is anytime in December (after our preservation letter), I will be raising hell.
guy hit me up last year asking me to try his case on like a weeks notice. the file was a total fucking mess so i couldn't help him. i just looked him up on the district clerks website he has like 12 cases where he filed on the date the statute ran and never tried to get the people served. he might be mildly fucked.
A lot of times, the claimant never actually controls the car after the wreck. They make their PD claim and their carrier totals it, takes possession and title, and sells it for salvage. I always send preservation letters to my client’s own carrier and the tow yard.
Have an SGAL that is scrutinizing a $22K minor settlement like it's an international treatise. At 11:30 last night, he sent me this: “Please tell me legal analysis of why a minor owes any subro. [The minor] didn't incur medical bills, they were the financial obligation of her parents, and her parent's insurers. [The minor] is incompetent to have contracted with any provider or insurer.” Buddy, go fuck yourself.
Some GAL are the absolute worst. We had one hold up a $1.3m total settlement because the minor was only getting $50k on $8k in medical bills and both adults got surgery he thought she should be getting her college paid for from the settlement even though she was 100% better in 6 weeks settled at mediation in June and minor settlement hearing was the following march
My response was pretty snarky, but I've had an annoying morning Spoiler While I appreciate the thoroughness of your review, I fear that it is becoming a bit much at this point. Could you please advise whether you have reached out to [Mom] and scheduled an interview? ... Regarding your last question, “telling you legal analysis of why a minor owes any subro,” have you successfully argued this point before? If so, please provide some caselaw/SGAL orders/analysis showing that Washington Judges have found minors are not required to repay subrogation payments. If you have any evidence that will upend the Defense bar and fundamentally change subrogation interests in Washington, I’m all ears. In 13 years of practice, I’ve never seen such a point made. Moreover, I don’t believe a minor’s settlement of $22,000 – with minimal treatment, minimal billing and minimal subrogation interest – is the appropriate setting to make such an argument. I disagree with using [the minor] (and by extension, [Mom]) as a test case for some novel legal theory. [The minor] did incur bills, regardless of whether she was a signatory on the insurance contract signed by her parents. It is pattern and practice not just in Washington, but as far as I know in the nation, that all Parties are obligated to repay medical bills from settlements reached on the basis of said medical bills. If you want to argue in your SGAL report that [the Minor] should not be obligated to repay any of her medical bills, that is your decision. I will not make that argument to the Court because I do not believe it has merit. I will similarly not be providing any legal analysis because I do not believe any valid analysis exists to make said point. Costs are attached. To the extent you could expedite your report, it would be much appreciated. Let me know if you want to jump on a call.
if he keeps it up set a status conference with the judge so you can let them know he's holding everything up.
There's actually a decent amount of case law here in MS that at least for minors , health insurance subro is fucked. If it's ERISA and insurance funded , they are fucked. If it's fully funded but they didn't get their subro claim approved ahead of time they are fucked. The constitution gives the states authority to deal with minors and family matters. Thus state law > federal law as to minors. Thus state law made whole >ERISA. So if they don't come get their lien perfected then they are fucked. Only health insurance liens that can survive it for the most part are medicaid, medicare, tricare, VA. Non ERISA non statutory is ultra fucked.
Did you strike the jury last week, or have you already done jury selections and openings? If the latter, it moves a lot faster in Florida.
jury selection Friday Trial starts Monday there are some counties/judges who still pick and go. This judge wanted us to do openings the afternoon after jury selection but we stipulated to doing them Monday
I wouldnt say drastically but the Supreme Court and legislature are really going all out to make things go faster generally. They’re trying to turn state court into federal court. They probably adopt federal jury selection procedure at some point
You guys aren’t going to believe this, but maybe the Florida homeowners’ insurance crisis wasn’t caused by frivolous lawsuits after all: https://nam10.safelinks.protection....lcFggeoONFCL8Ccqm9MsFpPyjmshwGGZ4=&reserved=0
The jury heard a full day of testimony about who was at fault. then they submitted a jury question asking “how do we determine who was at fault when we don’t have evidence” then they put 0% fault on the defendant who admitted to changing lanes without looking and hitting my client. I genuinely don’t know what you do when you have a jury pool full of people who don’t seem to understand the most basic parts of reality
Posted a different article a few days ago in the insurance thread, but yeah. Everything I said would happen with the law changes is happening. And then there was this just sitting there that nobody would look at.
That sucks. Who did voi dire for you because that seems like a failure from day one with jury selection.
What was the defense's argument? How did they dispute liability if the Defendant admitted to switching lanes without looking and hitting your client ?
the defendant violated my motion in limine and accused my client of speeding and the judge let it happen and that didn’t help but otherwise im completely baffled
The fact that insurance as an industry is profitable doesn’t mean it’s profitable in Florida. Carriers are pulling out of Florida for a reason. It’s not because they’re making too much money.
Older attorneys who attempt to bully my into agreeing to put stuff completely contradictory to well established case law into the pre-trial stipulation make me laugh. No I will not completely flip the burden of proof for this case because you say there is case law supporting your completely insane position but won't actually provide proof it exists.
Don't beat yourself up. I got zeroed years ago on a case where a large F-350 type truck hit my client on the side of the road who was doing trash/clean up work for the city. The impact threw him 20~ feet and he needed back surgery. When I asked the foreman what happened he said "He shouldn't have been standing near the road." People suck. Juries are weird. You'll win one you don't deserve to win down the road. That's just our business.
The industry is broken in Florida and needs an overhaul. But what carriers like Universal have been doing is beyond criminal. That article is a perfect example. Ever since the 1 way fee statute was changed denials on small claims are up 20% and rates have climbed at the exact same rate as they did before the change. Plaintiffs attorneys were named the boogeyman and the cause for all the problems going on with the industry and it's completely false.
just got a call from the instagram chick lawyer who is in a mediation and is like would you have any interest in trying a he said she said case next week ..... no?
have an uber case where the driver spent 2 years in prison for possession with intent to distrubute. was 20 years ago. bad bad bad wreck and my client has bad injuries. progressive is going to pay the 1m for uber i call the uber lawyers and i'm like hey we need more than 1m or we are going to go pretty public about how uber knows they have felons driving for them and they don't disclose it. hes like wow this was 20 years ago you dont believe in rehabilitation? i was like bruh i very much do but the whole premise of uber is we will do background checks and make sure scumbags aren't driving you around. if they want it out in the 4th largest city in the country that when you get in an uber that you might be driven around by a guy who spent 2 years in state prison, i guess we can go that route. oh i'll call uber and get back to you no shit bruh
was a scumbag driving her around? or did a guy who did his time two decades ago happen to get in accident while doing his job?
also, sorry to hear about your trial bricktop . Although it is a dream of mine to get a completely undeserved defense verdict at trial one day.
i dunno dude you tell me. terroristic threat of family/household assault assault of a family member check fraud possession with intent to deliver adult felony robbery