WEST PALM BEACH—A Pennsylvania insurance company is suing over whether a claim is individual or related, which would make a difference in the payout of the claims.
American Casualty Company filed the suit on Jan. 14 in the West Palm Beach Division of the Southern District of Florida against Samuel Belcher and 11 other listed defendants, who are all residents of Florida.
The plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment regarding its rights and obligations under health care providers' professional liability insurance policy. The defendants believe they should get a payout for each individual claim against them, instead of one payout for related claims.
At issue is the fact that the defendants have asserted that the compounding claims with the plaintiff are not “related claims,” but that each is a single claim, subject to the $1 million limit of liability. If the court rules that each claim is in fact individual, the payout would be compounded.
The plaintiff also seeks additional declaratory and other relief as the court will find proper. The plaintiff is represented by Julie K. Linhart of Colliau Carluccio Keener Morrow Peterson & Parsons of Tampa.
West Palm Beach Division of the Southern District of Florida Case number 16-cv-80074-BB