Court Watch February 2017

* National Council of Compensation Insurance v. James F. Fee, et al, Case# 1D16-5408 – The First District Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments for February 22, 2017, at 9:00am.  A link to the live video can be found on the 1st DCA’s website. Stay tuned…
* RetailFirst Insurance Company and Servpro of SE Tampa v. Brenton Davis, 42 Fla. L. Weekly D222, (Fla. 1st DCA, 1/23/17) – In this case of first impression, the 1st DCA holds that under section 440.13(2)(f), the “One-time change” provision allows “only for a one-to-one exchange of physicians within the same specialty”.
* City of Hialeah/Sedgwick CMS v. Tony Bono, Case #1D16-967 (Fla. 1st DCA 1/19/17) – The 1st DCA clarifies the proper standard for the application of the misrepresentation defense.  Under Section 440.105(4) the E/C must prove 1) that the Claimant made a false, fraudulent or misleading statement; and 2) that the statement was made with the intent to obtain benefits.  A false statement alone is not sufficient.  There must be intent!