STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CO., APPELLANT,
v.
U.S.A. DIAGNOSTICS, INC., APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1997-07-23
No. 96-4050
GUNTHER and POLEN, JJ., concur.
696 So. 2d 1334 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

State Farm sought to compel arbitration of a PIP medical benefits dispute with a health care provider under an arbitration clause in its insurance policy. The Fourth District Court of Appeal held it lacked jurisdiction over the county court's certified question because the order denying the motion to compel arbitration was a non-final order not within the court's discretionary review authority, and transferred the case to the circuit court.


Holding

The District Court of Appeal lacks discretionary jurisdiction to review the certified question because the order denying the motion to compel arbitration is a non-final order that does not fall within the scope of reviewable orders under Rule 9.160(a), and appellate jurisdiction over such non-final orders lies instead in the circuit courts.


Headnotes

[1] District courts of appeal lack discretionary jurisdiction to review a county court's non-final order denying a motion to compel arbitration when the order is not appealab…

[2] Appellate jurisdiction of non-final orders determining entitlement to arbitration lies in the circuit courts.

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Key Quotes

“The order denying the motion to compel arbitration is a non-final order. As it is plainly not an order under rule 9.140, it is clear that this court does not have discretionary jurisdiction to review this certified question under rule 9.160(a).”

Establishes the basis for the court's lack of jurisdiction—the order is non-final and does not fall within Rule 9.140

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Facts & Procedural History

A health care provider filed suit against State Farm in County Court seeking payment of medical bills for treating an accident victim. The victim had …

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Opinion of the Court
FARMER, Judge.

FARMER, Judge.

A provider of health care services for the victim of an accident filed suit against her PIP carrier in the County Court seeking payment of her medical bills.1 The PIP carrier moved to compel arbitration under a provision in the policy.2 The County Court denied the motion but certified to this court a question of great public importance. See Fla. R.App. P. 9.160(a) (Discretionary Proceedings to Review Decisions of County Courts). The PIP carrier then brought the case to us under the certified question.

We asked the parties to address the question of our jurisdiction. In their responses they both seek to have us rule on the merits of this ease and answer the certified question. We can do so only if we have jurisdiction. We do not.

Rule 9.160(a) provides:

“Applicability. This rule applies to those proceedings that invoke the discretionary jurisdiction of the district courts of appeal to review county court orders described in rule 9.030(b)(4).”

Rule 9.030(b)(4), in turn, provides:

“Discretionary Review. District courts of appeal, in their discretion, may review by appeal

(A) final orders of the county court otherwise appealable to the circuit court under these rules that the county court has certified to be of great public importance;

(B) non-final orders otherwise appeal-able to the circuit court under rule 9.140(c) that the county court has certified to be of great public importance.”

The order denying the motion to compel arbitration is a non-final order. As it is plainly not an order under rule 9.140, it is clear that this court does not have discretionary jurisdiction to review this certified question under rule 9.160(a).

Furthermore, appellate jurisdiction of non-final orders that determine entitlement to arbitration lies in the circuit courts. See Fla.RApp.P. 9.030(c)(1)(B); and 9.130(a)(3)(C)(v). We may then exercise our discretion under limited circumstances to review an appellate decision of the circuit court. See Fla.R.App.P. 9.030(b)(2)(B); see also Haines City Community Development v. Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523 (Fla.1995).

Accordingly, we transfer this appeal to the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

GUNTHER and POLEN, JJ., concur. . The insured had executed an assignment of PIP benefits to the provider. The assignment stated:

"I hereby IRREVOCABLY ASSIGN to U.S.A. DIAGNOSTICS INC. any benefits under any policy of insurance, indemnity agreement, or any other collateral source as defined in Florida Statutes 768.76 for any services and/or charges provided by U.S.A. DIAGNOSTICS INC.

"It is the intent of the undersigned that this assignment is irrevocable and shall apply to any and all causes of actions, suits, claims, counter-claims and demands.”

. The PIP coverage under the insurance policy provided:

"Any claim dispute involving medical benefits under this section of the policy between us and a medical services or supplies provider (hereinafter referred to as health care provider) who has agreed to accept an assignment of personal injury protection benefits shall be decided by arbitration upon written request of either party.”

The motion to compel arbitration was based on this provision.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Se. Diagnostic Servs. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 697 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
    …FARMER, Judge. This case presents the substantive issue we were unable to reach in State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. U.S.A. Diagnostics, Inc., 696 So. 2d 1334 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), for lack of jurisdiction. The issue is whether a voluntary assignee-provider of PIP benefits can be compelled under the arbitration provision in the policy to arbitrate the assignee’s claim against the insurer for payment. See §…
  • State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Atmore, 790 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
    …uestions of great public importance to this court. That order was nonfinal. Therefore, as discussed above, we have no jurisdiction based on the certification of great public importance. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. U.S.A. Diagnostics, Inc., 696 So. 2d 1334 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). Moreover, the order was not appealable as a nonfinal order under rule 9.130, and, in any event, the notice of appeal was untimely as to it. However, in response to our order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed,…

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