Kurt Ciell Granted Motion for Summary Judgment in Assignment of Benefits Claim

Kelley Kronenberg’s Kurt Ciell won a Motion for Summary Judgment involving a question of whether the plaintiff had standing to sue an insurance carrier for payment under Florida’s Assignment of Benefits (AOB) law.  An AOB agreement transfers an insured’s claims, rights, or benefits to a third party.

In this case, Ciell argued the plaintiff did not have standing because his AOB agreement failed on two fronts.  First, it did not contain a written, per-unit cost estimate as required under Florida Statutes 627.7152(2)(a)4.  Further, the submitted invoices, which post-dated the agreement, were not legally sufficient. The attorneys persuaded the judge that the assignment agreement was “invalid and unenforceable” to convey standing for plaintiff to sue the carrier, and therefore, summary judgment was granted.

Kurt Ciell is a Practice Group Partner at Kelley Kronenberg where he assists in handling matters related to First-and-Third Party Property Insurance Defense Litigation, including Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation.  He is based in the firm’s Tampa office and can be reached at kciell@kelleykronenberg.com

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Kelley Kronenberg is a multi-practice business law firm with over 400 employees, more than 200 attorneys, and 12 locations throughout Florida and the United States. Founded in 1980, the firm is one of the fastest-growing law firms in Florida and amongst the largest in the U.S. The firm serves all types and sizes of public and private companies, including small businesses and individuals nationwide. Kelley Kronenberg has been recognized amongst the “Largest U.S. Law Firms” by the National Law Journal’s NLJ 500, Law 360 400, and Florida Trend in 2020, “America’s Top Corporate Law Firms” by Forbes and “Top 10” in NLJ’s “Women’s Scorecard” 2019. The firm has been the recipient of many accolades most recently including: “Best Multi-Practice Business Law Firm – USA,” Acquisition International; “Business of the Year,” “Top 100 Private Companies,” “Top Law Firms,” and “Largest Law Firms,” South Florida Business Journal; “Largest Law Firms,” Tampa Bay Business Journal, Orlando Business Journal,  and Jacksonville Business Journal; “Biggest Law Firms in Florida,” Florida Trend; “Top 100 Law Firms,” South Florida Business & Wealth; Florida’s Largest Law Firms,” American Lawyer’s, Daily Business Review “Review 100;” and “Best Law Firms,” U.S. News – Best Lawyers®. The firm earned the 2021 Ragan’s Top Places to Work and Top Workplaces USA award by Energage and “Top Workplaces for Communication, Top Workplaces for Clued-In Leaders, Top Workplaces for Top Leaders, and Top Workplaces for Innovation.” Kelley Kronenberg has also been recognized as a “Top Workplace” by the Sun-Sentinel and a “Best Place to Work” by the South Florida Business Journal for two consecutive years.  For more information, visit www.kklaw.com.