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July 29, 2010 |
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| May 18, 2007 |
By: Jordana Mishory |
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Jay Spechler
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nited Automobile Insurance Co., whose general counsel recently alleged that some judges “are being paid off,” is seeking to remove a second South Florida judge from all Personal Injury Protection accident cases it has before him due to the judge’s alleged bias.
The North Miami Beach-based carrier has repeatedly moved to disqualify Broward County Court Judge Jay Spechler and force him to step down from “any and all cases involving United Automobile Insurance Company as a litigant.” United alleges that Spechler routinely displays “pre-disposition, prejudice and bias” against its attorneys.
Last month, the Daily Business Review reported that United moved to disqualify Miami-Dade County Court Judge Jacqueline Schwartz from handling its PIP cases. The Review also reported that United filed a state Judicial Qualifications Commission complaint against Schwartz, and cited that complaint in an attempt to disqualify Schwartz from its cases.
United counsel Daniel Cruz, a Coral Gables attorney who filed one of the motions for disqualification, did not return calls for comment.
In an interview, Judge Spechler, who has served as a judge since 1988, estimated that about two thirds of his caseload consists of United PIP cases. He declined to comment on the insurer’s attempts to disqualify him. Judicial rules prevent judges from discussing pending cases.
Cris Boyar, an attorney with Boyar & Freeman in Margate who represents PIP claimants, defended Judge Spechler. He said he’s been litigating in front of Spechler for years, and that Spechler is “just as tough on everybody and doesn’t play favorites.”
Hialeah attorney Carlos Lidsky, United’s outside counsel, declined to comment on United’s recusal motions against Spechler and Schwartz, though he did say those were United’s only recusal motions pending against South Florida judges that he knew about.
United is well known among Miami-Dade and Broward judges and lawyers for its hyper-aggressive legal campaign to combat what it considers fraudulent and excessive PIP claims by policyholders, medical providers and their lawyers.
Last month, the Review quoted United general counsel Charles Grimsley saying that judges have not treated United fairly in the courtroom, and that he believed judges were being “paid off,” although he admitted he could not prove it.
Facing a firestorm of criticism, Grimsley subsequently backed away from his explosive accusation, saying “I don’t think there’s any money changing hands.”
The insurer took out a full-page ad in the Review, saying that Grimsley’s statement “does not remotely reflect the opinion of United Automobile Insurance or any of its defense attorneys.” It also said Grimsley’s statement was not authorized by the company or any of its defense attorneys.
Yet Grimsley officially represented United before House and Senate panels last month as part of his company’s lobbying effort to kill the PIP program.
Florida’s PIP system, in place since 1971, makes it mandatory for drivers to carry at least $10,000 in no-fault coverage for medical expenses, lost wages, and funeral costs. The system will sunset in October because the Legislature, under pressure from United and other auto insurers, did not renew it.
Under the current system, when a medical provider submits a bill to a PIP insurance carrier for treating an injured policyholder, the carrier is required to pay within 30 days. If it doesn’t pay, the policyholder or medical provider can sue the insurer to collect. If the suit is successful, the insurer has to pay attorney fees, which are subject to a separate hearing process.
United, Florida’s largest seller of PIP-only auto coverage, has had thousands of cases filed against it over the past several years in Miami-Dade and Broward for nonpayments of claims and attorney fees, and has vigorously litigated them. This flood of cases has incurred the anger of many judges, consumer advocates and policyholders.
In 2004, the state Office of Insurance Regulation fined United $75,000 for fighting 96 percent of its policyholders’ claims, saying that if the carrier really discovered that much fraud, it was negligent in not reporting it to the state.
Series of recusal motions
Lidsky’s firm, Lidsky Vaccaro & Montes, filed a recusal motion against Judge Schwartz on Jan. 16 claiming that she has a “predisposition, prejudice and bias” against United.
The motions for disqualification against Spechler in Broward contain similar language. Boyar said United has filed at least 20 motions asking Spechler to step down.
Spechler filed four orders recusing himself from United cases this past winter, according to Kris Mazzeo, the chief director of circuit civil for the Broward Clerk of Courts. Mazzeo said the Broward Clerks office does not keep records for the total number of motions for disqualification filed against judges.
On Feb. 5, in Health Tech Medical Inc. v. United Automobile Insurance Co., United filed for recusal of Spechler, claiming that he was “abusive, demeaning, intimidating, sarcastic and discourteous to its counsel.”
The motion cited passages from several hearings in which United alleges Spechler made disparaging comments about United. In one hearing, Spechler said, “It’s just another pattern of unprofessionalism that only United Auto seems to be able to do.”
The United attorney in that hearing, Nicolas Babinsky of Miami, could not be reached for comment.
Another United recusal motion against Spechler was filed in a PIP case before Broward County Court Judge Lisa Trachman. On Feb. 13, she denied the motion as moot since Spechler was not involved in the case. Another motion for Spechler’s disqualification is on appeal before Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld.
In yet another United case before Spechler, Martinez Chiropractic Center v. United Automobile Insurance Co., a transcript of a Feb. 7 hearing illustrated the tension between United attorneys and Judge Spechler. It showed the judge growing increasingly frustrated with United attorney Roger White of Coral Gables.
Spechler was angry because White had missed an earlier hearing to attend an out-of-state golf event without notifying the claimant lawyer, and he hadn’t clearly arranged to have another United attorney fill in.
During the hearing, Spechler lambasted White for showing up for court unprepared and for defying a court order. Spechler previously had ruled that United could not introduce new defenses without seeking leave to do so. Yet White subsequently raised two new affirmative defenses after Spechler struck United’s initial answers without prejudice.
‘Why am I a liar, Judge?’
The exchanges between Spechler and White were so rapid that the court reporter said she had difficulty transcribing. The judge repeatedly chided White for interrupting him.
At one point, White accused Spechler of finding White’s statements funny. White had made contradictory statements about the identity of the lawyer who purportedly filled in for him. White claimed that the judge had a smile on his face.
“Let’s make one thing perfectly clear for the record,” Spechler responded. “I don’t have a smile on my face.”
In another exchange, White accused Spechler of rolling his eyes. “Why did you roll your eyes at that, your honor? ... Why am I a liar, Judge?”
“Mr. White?” Spechler asked.
“Yes, your honor.”
“Do not tell me whether I’m rolling my eyes. I did not roll my eyes.”
“You did, your honor. I have as much right to accurately depict what goes on physically on this record as you do. You called my voice raised earlier. I don’t know that it was raised.”
“It’s raised again. You’re yelling.”
“I happen to be the loudest man in America,” White retorted. “I’m not raised right now. I’m fervent. I’m passionate.”
The judge said he wished that a Florida Bar representative were present to observe White’s conduct.
At the end of the hearing, White suggested that United’s recusal motions against Spechler had biased the judge against his client. “I understand that my client has a motion for recusal in front of you, and I can understand your disdain for United and any attorneys associated with them,” White said.
Coral Springs attorney Andrew Weinstein, who represents Martinez Chiropractic and was present at the Feb. 7 hearing, said he doesn’t think United filed a motion for Spechler’s recusal in his case.
Weinstein declined to comment on the hearing, except to laud Spechler’s professionalism.
White did not return repeated calls for comment.
Jordana Mishory can be reached at jmishory@alm.com or at (954) 468-2616.
Jay Spechler photo by Melanie Bell
Correction
Due to an editing error the Review inaccurately described the reason for a $75,000 fine the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation levied against United Automobile Insurance Co. in 2004. The OIR fined United for “the egregious nature of the failure to report fraudulent claims.” We regret the error.
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