Scott Linquist, of the Orlando office, won a dismissal with prejudice on the Plaintiff’s Motion for Entitlement to Attorneys’ Fees on a first party auto / property damage claim.

The Insurer adjusted a total loss/auto insurance claim with its Insured. The claim was never denied. Instead, the Insured agreed to the Insurer’s property damage evaluation. The Insured then executed a power of attorney that allowed the Insurer to pay the adjusted sum to the vehicle’s lien holder. After the lien holder was paid, the Insured’s attorney made a demand for additional monies for diminished value. This claim was denied and the Insurer asserted that the matter was previously settled.

Suit was filed and a civil remedy notice was served on the Insurer indicating that it could cure the violation through the unconditional payment for diminished value. For purely economic reasons, the Insurer paid the cure amount under Florida Statute § 624.155. The check for that additional amount was then cashed by the Insured.
Thereafter, counsel for the Insured filed a Motion for Attorneys’ Fees, deeming the cure payment a confession of judgment and sought fees in excess of $15,000.00.

Scott prepared a detailed Motion to Dismiss and argued that the cure payment under Florida Statute § 624.155, extinguished any future claim. Throughout the process, counsel for the Insured aggressively pressured Scott and even tried to get a fee hearing heard before an entitlement hearing was conducted.

However, Scott argued that first, there was no entitlement to fees and second, that the Insurer had actually settled the case twice. The court agreed with Scott and dismissed the case with prejudice.