Southern District of Florida Punitively Enforces Discovery Schedule Against Insurance Company in an Uninsured Motorist Action

Though this case involves a fairly straightforward issue of a plaintiff pursuing uninsured motorist insurance benefits from her own insurer, it highlights numerous issues to be cognizant of in defense of what seem like simple claims and litigations. The crux of the issue in the litigation was the insurance company’s failure to timely schedule a medical examination so that it could be conducted prior to certain expert disclosures. Despite the ability for the court to simply extend discovery deadlines, it held that the plaintiff would be prejudiced by extension of a discovery schedule. The court granted the plaintiff’s motion for a protective order prohibiting the examination and threatened sanctions if the insurance company insisted on moving forward with an examination that was not conducted in advance of the insurance company’s disclosure deadlines. Perhaps most interestingly, the case fails to address why this matter proceeded as an uninsured case given that the accident was with a United States Postal truck, which would be self-insured through the Federal Government. Most policies and state laws would not allow an uninsured motorist case to proceed when there is available insurance or a party that would owe the alleged loss, but these defenses often have strict deadlines. Failure to comply with these deadlines can leave insurers holding the bag for technically improper uninsured motorist complaints. 

_{Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2024 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2024 Marshall Dennehey, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}