UNITED AUTOMOBILE
v.
MIAMI DADE MRI RAUL BUSTILLO

11th Cir. Ct. App. Div. | 2020-06-03
No. 2017-369-AP-01
1 FLCA 6887 Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, Appellate Division (2020)

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Synopsis

United Automobile Insurance Company appeals a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Miami-Dade MRI on a medical billing dispute. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding UAIC's conflicting affidavit regarding the reasonableness of medical bills, which created a genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment.

Holding

The trial court abused its discretion in excluding UAIC's conflicting affidavit. When that affidavit is considered, a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding the reasonableness of the medical bills, making summary judgment improper.

Headnotes

[1] It is an abuse of discretion to exclude a conflicting affidavit regarding the reasonableness of medical bills when determining summary judgment.

[2] Reversal of summary judgment is warranted when a trial court improperly excludes a party's affidavit that creates a genuine issue of material fact.

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Key Quotes

“it was an abuse of discretion to exclude UAIC's conflicting affidavit on whether the medical bills at issue were reasonable in price”

Establishes the core holding that exclusion of the adjuster's affidavit constituted reversible error

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Facts & Procedural History

UAIC challenged medical bills submitted by Miami-Dade MRI. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the provider. UAIC presented a conflic…

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Opinion of the Court

Before: TRAWICK, WALSH and DE LA O1, JJ.

COPIES FURNISHED TO COUNSEL

OF RECORD AND TO ANY PARTY

NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.

Footnotes
1 Judge de la O did not participate in oral argument. [*2] Page 2 of 3 PER CURIAM. (UAIC) appeals the trial court’s order granting final summary judgment on behalf of the Provider. Here, the trial court rejected the conflicting affidavit offered by UAIC of its adjuster, Lizbeth Velazquez. As this panel and the majority of prior panels from this Court have found, it was an abuse of discretion to exclude UAIC’s conflicting affidavit on whether the medical bills at issue were reasonable in price. Taking UAIC’s excluded affidavit into account, it was error to grant summary judgment. See United Auto. Ins. Co. v. Miami-Dade MRI a/a/o Bermudez, 2018-164 (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. June 3, 2020); State Farm Mutual Ins. Co. v. Gables Insurance Recovery a/a/o Yuderis Rego, 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 860a (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. Nov. 20. 2019); United Automobile Insurance Co. v. Open MRI of Miami Dade, Ltd. a/a/o Rosa Castillo, Case No. 2017-326-AP-01 (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. Nov. 6, 2019); United Automobile Insurance Co., Appellant, v. Miami Dade County MRI, Corp. a/a/o Marta Figueredo, 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 506b (Fla. 11th Cir. App. July 30, 2019); United Automobile Insurance Co., Appellant, v. Miami Dade County MRI, Corp. a/a/o Javier Rodriguez, 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 225c (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. July 25, 2019); United Automobile Insurance Co., Appellant, v. Miami Dade County MRI, Corp. a/a/o Rene Dechard, 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 226a (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct., August 12, 2019); United Automobile Insurance Co., Appellant, v. Millennium Radiology, LLC a/a/o Javier Rodriguez, [*3] Page 3 of 3 25 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 911b (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct., July 19, 2019). Accordingly, the summary judgment and final judgment entered below are hereby REVERSED, and this cause is REMANDED to the trial court. Appellee’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees is DENIED. Appellant’s Motion for Attorney’s Fees is conditionally GRANTED (conditioned upon Appellant ultimately prevailing and the enforceability of the proposal for settlement) and REMANDED to the trial court to fix amount.

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