CSK Appellate Counsel
Fort Lauderdale West Partner Michael Rosenberg
Case Summary
This case arose from a dispute between a medical provider and a Defendant insurance company over personal injury protection (PIP) benefits. The medical provider sought payment for medical charges associated with a patient’s PIP deductible. As the case approached trial, the parties disagreed over whether the Plaintiff could raise issues that had not been included in its original complaint. The Defendant sought to limit the case to the PIP claims that had originally been filed.
The dispute ultimately led the Plaintiff to ask Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal to intervene before the trial court case had concluded. Through a petition for writ of certiorari, the Plaintiff sought immediate review rather than waiting to challenge the issue through an appeal after the case ended.
Appellate Strategy
Mr. Rosenberg focused on whether the Plaintiff was entitled to appellate review before the underlying case reached a final judgment. Because the case was still ongoing, the Plaintiff had to demonstrate that the challenged ruling created a problem that could not be corrected through a normal appeal later.
Mr. Rosenberg maintained that the Plaintiff had an adequate opportunity to address the issue after the case concluded and therefore had not established the irreparable harm required for the Sixth District Court of Appeal to consider the petition.
Outcome
The Sixth District Court of Appeal dismissed the Plaintiff’s petition after finding that the required showing of irreparable harm had not been established.
The dismissal prevented the Plaintiff from obtaining appellate review before the underlying case concluded. The decision demonstrates that a party generally cannot seek this type of early appellate review simply because it disagrees with a ruling made while a case is still ongoing; it must show that waiting for a later appeal would cause harm that could not be corrected.
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