Florida Insurance Law Blog

Having spent much of our practice representing folks against health insurers and HMO'S, we know first and why the health system is broken and needs reform.

It is astounding how anyone can vote against their own best interests.

In the USA, no one should bankrupt themselves and ruin their family's finances because they are sick and have health problems. No one, when they are sick and weak, and fighting for their own life and health should have to fight their own insurer or HMO at the same time.

Money talks to the politicians alright, and the voters who voted for them or didn't care enough to vote at all. Here's the Bloomberg News link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2010-11-17/insurers-gave-u-s-chamber-86-million-used-to-oppose-obama-s-health-law.html

Maybe because of inertia, maybe because it is easy, maybe because we simply don't put 2 & 2 together, folks do things the same old way, even if that way is not the best way. This past Friday, Felix Salmon, at Reuters, posted this blog post: http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/11/19/can-legal-due-process-move-online/

It seems that almost every day in USA Today, there are several Class Action notices, filled with way too much, and too little information about a Class Action. It's like the old Pogo cartoon: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!".

A Class Action is a procedural device to permit usually small claims to be litigated together so that small wrongs, sometimes called "small frauds" can be vindicated. Felix Salmon's blog post, in turn, links to this terrific Caveat Emptor blog post: http://caveatemptorblog.com/class-action-attorneys-give-up-over-1-billion-in-claims-for-20000/

Class Action lawyers have a fiduciary duty to the members of the class, both named class members as well as unnamed class members. We take that duty very seriously. It's always better to do things the right way, even if it may be, in the short term, less profitable.

How many consumers recognize that when they "agree" to a licensing agreement, when they get a new cell phone, when they open an account at a bank, when they buy a new computer, or a new software program, that they are "agreeing" to waive their rights to go to court, if they are cheated, and they may not have consumer protections that the state legislature has provided to them?

Credit Card Companies, Banks, cell phone companies, computer manufacturers, software companies all want to force the consumer to arbitrate any disputes with them, with very limited rights, for a cost that most times exceeds the damages, instead of going to court, under the state law consumer protection statutes. This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, almost all big corporations do this.

In our own practice we have successfully litigated against a health insurance company, that, without ever disclosing that the policy required arbitration of any disputes, included a drastic one sided requirement that any disputes between the health insurer and an an insured policyholder, including the requirement that the arbitrator(s) could only be a current or former insurance company employee with at least 5 years experience! (How's that for the fox guarding the hen house??) If you'd like to see the case documents, our Wallant v Freedom Life case they are here, on our website: http://www.liggiolaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1440071.html

This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of AT&T Mobility v Concepcion, which can, in one decision, wipe out many consumer protections. Here is the link tot he excellent Alliance for Justice Report that explains how important the Concepcion case is for all of us. http://www.afj.org/judicial-selection/arbitration-report-final.pdf

Since 2005 we, and our, co-counsel Scott Johni, Phil Burlington, and Kent Whittemore, have been litigating a Class Action against Heritage Propane.

Our client, Mr. Williams, entered into a contract with Peoples Gas in 1996. After 9 years... and 5 years after Peoples Gas had been merged into Heritage Propane... he received an invoice for Propane Tank Rent. He protested to Heritage Propane without success, and we filed suit that year.

I am happy to announce that the Judge recently certified our Class Action.

If we are successful on the merits of the case, it may mean that thousands of Florida former Peoples Gas customers who Heritage Propane began charging Propane Tank rent may be entitled to recover that money back, and they won't continue to be charged tank rent.

If you'd like to read and learn more, here is the link to our website, where you can read the Williams v Heritage Propane complaint, as well as the Court order Certifying the Class: http://www.liggiolaw.com/lawyer-attorney-1440071.html