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APRIL 2021
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DON’T BE A FOOL THIS APRIL Be Sure to Purchase Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Florida has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country. About 19% of drivers — nearly 1 in 5 cars on the road — are driven by people who have no form of car insurance. That means that if you get in an accident with a driver who’s uninsured, and they’re at fault for the accident, you might be out of luck when it comes to getting them to pay for damage to your vehicle and any medical treatment you might have needed. In my experience as a Florida personal injury attorney, I can attest to the fact that this scenario is more common than you think — and current statistics back that up! I once represented a client who had suffered multiple broken bones and lacerations in a car accident with an underinsured motorist. Their insurance policy only allowed for them to pay my client $10,000 — much less than they needed to compensate for their injuries. Luckily, my client had uninsured/ underinsured motorist coverage (UM coverage), and they made up the difference with that. UM coverage is extra insurance coverage you can use to pay for your injuries and damages to your vehicle in the event that the party at fault in the accident is uninsured or underinsured. Because of the high number of cases that I’ve personally worked on where the at-fault party was uninsured or underinsured, and because there are just so many people driving around with inadequate coverage or no coverage at all, I usually recommend UM coverage. April may be the month of April Fools’ Day, but you should avoid being a fool when it comes to UM coverage!
With that in mind, you might wonder: How do I get UM coverage? Well, while in Florida it’s not illegal to drive around without UM coverage, insurance providers are required to offer it as an option when you purchase auto insurance. You actually have to sign a specific form rejecting the UM coverage in order to not receive it. If you’re not sure whether you have UM coverage with your current insurance provider, you can check with them to make sure. One additional option that you should be aware of when purchasing UM coverage is whether it is “stacked” coverage or “non-stacked” coverage. When your UM coverage is stacked, it means you can utilize the same amount of coverage for all of your vehicles — even if just one of your vehicles was involved in the accident. For example, if you pay for $25,000 worth of UM coverage and you have three vehicles on your policy, you would have access to $75,000 in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist. However, if your coverage is non-stacked, you’re limited to the $25,000 specifically assigned to the car listed on the insurance policy. Driving around without auto insurance is certainly foolish — but if you have the option of purchasing UM coverage and you don’t do it, well, that could end up being an equally foolish move. Whatever the case, if you get in an accident with another motorist and you believe they are largely at fault for the accident, give our office a call today.
“If you get in an accident with a driver who’s uninsured, and they’re at fault for the accident, you might be out of luck when it comes to getting them to pay for damage to your vehicle and any medical treatment you might have needed.”
– Moe DeWitt
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Influencer marketing has long been a legal gray area, but recently settled celebrity lawsuits related to the Fyre Festival — a failed luxury musical festival — have definitely added some color to the debate. The idea for the Fyre Festival came from rapper Ja Rule and his business partner Billy McFarland, a 25-year-old CEO of a luxury concierge service. The duo created the event together and touted it as the world’s most expensive music festival. They’d also launched an attractive marketing campaign that included celebrity promotions by Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and other influencers. All the while, the organizers knew the Fyre Festival was doomed from the start. In lieu of a multiday, luxury experience, thousands of people were scammed and left stranded in the Bahamas instead. "[The organizers] had six to eight weeks to pull off something that should have taken close to a year," says Chris Smith, who directed a Netflix documentary on the festival. "But what was most surprising to me was going to the Bahamas and seeing the aftermath of what was left behind and the effect on the people there." The local economy was devastated. "They had engaged with so much of the local community to try and pull this off. There were hundreds of day laborers working," says Smith. "Fyre had such a high profile that I don't think anyone could have assumed that it wouldn't work out." As the Fyre Festival fell apart, Gregory Messer — the trustee in charge of overseeing the bankruptcy for Fyre Media — looked into the finances. He began to suspect that there had been “fraudulent transfers” between the founders and many of the event’s promoters, and he began to sue the celebrities and influencers that drove the hype behind the festival. For example, McFarland and Ja Rule reportedly paid Kendall Jenner over $275,000 to publish an Instagram post promoting the festival. Although Jenner denied liability, she did not disclose on the post that it was paid and sponsored. Messer’s attorney further argued that Jenner had not told her Instagram followers that she’d pulled out of the festival after learning of its disastrous problems. Although more legal parameters will likely spring up in the future to further define the limits of influencer marketing, this will certainly make any celebrity think twice about accepting money to promote events and brands. And that’s definitely for the best! The Fyre Festival’s Legal Fallout for Influencers Up in Flames
‘ Restoring Our Earth ’ Instead of Mitigating Damage
Earth Day came about in 1970 after 20 million people protested, calling for better environmental regulations. This kick-started the environmental movement that continues to this day. Now, every year on the anniversary of that demonstration (April 22), people celebrate Earth Day. The Earth Day Network, a nonprofit organization with a mission to “diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide,” chooses a theme for Earth Day each year. When the nonprofit announced that the theme for 2021 would be “Restore Our Earth,” the COVID-19 pandemic had been raging for a few months, and themes of restoration to the environment no doubt seemed appropriate. Everyone wanted to get back to normalcy — to have it restored. That said, however, the “Restore Our Earth” theme flew in the face of conventional wisdom about caring for the environment. Until recently, many defined environmental protection as merely a mitigation of the activities and behaviors that bring about environmental damage and climate change. The emerging mindset — that we should be focused not only on mitigation, but also a restoration of the world’s resources — makes many hopeful that we can repair environments that we’ve destroyed and prevent any harmful effects that environmental degradation might have on our health in the future. While the exact source of the coronavirus is still uncertain, scientists and other experts have called on global leaders to recognize this pandemic as a threat that knows no borders, and that if we want to prevent something like this from happening in the future, we have to take better care of the planet now. As we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that we won’t emerge from it without understanding the crucial connection between the health of our planet and our individual health. When we “Restore the Earth,” we restore life to our own bodies and to the bodies of our loved ones as well. THE THEME OF EARTH DAY 2021
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THIS MONTH ON THE ‘DEWITT LAW REVIEW’
A: Yes, you want to call your auto insurance company and make sure that you would be covered if you were in an accident on a vehicle that was not listed on your policy. Additionally, I would call your auto insurance and add uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. I would get this coverage because Florida does not require any bodily injury insurance coverage, which means if someone hits you and hurts you, they don’t have to have coverage to cover you. When in a car, you have PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage in the amount of up to $10,000 for medical benefits. However, there is no PIP coverage for motorcyclists. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will provide coverage for you if you are in an accident and the at-fault driver doesn’t have sufficient coverage. Q: Can I file for divorce in Florida? I moved to Florida 8 years ago and my husband lives in Ohio now. He moved to Ohio more than 6 months ago. A: If you and your husband last lived together as husband and wife in Ohio, then Ohio is the proper place to file for divorce. If you and your husband last lived together as husband
The “DeWitt Law Review” airs every Sunday at 10 a.m. on 107.3 FM and 580 AMWDBO. It is always our goal to bring the listeners of Central Florida the latest legal news and create a forum where they can ask legal questions anonymously from the comfort of their own home without having to retain an attorney. To listen to this month’s episodes or any episode of the “DeWitt Law Review,” you can visit our website at dewittlaw.com, where you can download the podcast from Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We receive many legal questions from our listeners each month, and we wanted to share some of the interesting questions in hopes that they may also benefit others facing similar legal issues. If you would like to ask a question, give us a call and leave a voicemail at (407) 536‑6737. You can also text questions to (407) 536‑6737 or email ask@dewittlaw.com. Q: I have a motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license and want to ride my friend’s motorcycle, possibly buying it. Should I update my auto insurance and get health insurance?
and wife in Florida, then Florida would be the proper place to file for divorce. It doesn’t matter if your husband no longer lives in Florida, if you last lived together as husband and wife in Florida. The only requirement is that one party has lived in Florida for six months prior to filing the divorce. Q: I moved in with a friend and her family. I have been providing financial assistance because the husband lost his job. The husband and wife are now planning on filing for divorce. Will my financial support and the fact that I live with the wife prevent her from receiving alimony? A: No, the fact that you live at the house with the wife and provide financial assistance should not prevent the wife from receiving alimony. You are staying there on a temporary basis, and your recent financial support is not the standard of living that would be relevant for purposes of alimony. However, if you co- habitate in manner where you essentially live together as husband and wife but do not get married, this could prevent her from receiving alimony. Florida statutes require that the court look at whether you are in a financially supportive relationship. Typically, a roommate or housemate situation would not qualify.
BREAK TAKE A
Spring Vegetable and Chicken Pasta Bake
Inspired by TheSeasonedMom.com
Celebrate spring with this easy, tasty, herb-packed pasta bake. INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
• 1 cup cooked chicken, diced • 1 14-oz can artichokes, drained and quartered • 1 cup fresh asparagus pieces • 1/2 cup carrots, grated • 1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta • 1 3/4 cups chicken broth • 1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped and divided • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped and divided • 2 tsp minced garlic • 1/4 tsp salt • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1. Preheat oven to 425 F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. 2. In the prepared dish, stir together cooked chicken, artichokes, asparagus, carrots, uncooked pasta, chicken broth, half the chives, half the parsley, garlic, salt, and 2 tbsp Parmesan. 3. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. 4. Uncover and stir. At this point, check the pasta to make sure it is al dente. If it’s undercooked, cover the dish and return to the oven until pasta is tender. 5. Remove from oven and garnish with remaining Parmesan, chives, and parsley.
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1
You’d Be a Fool to Drive Around Without This Coverage
The Fyre Festival’s Legal Fallout for Influencers
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Why We Should Restore the Earth, Not Just Maintain It
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This Month on the ‘DeWitt Law Review’
3
Spring Vegetable and Chicken Pasta Bake
3
4 MLB Teams Poised for a Great Season
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4 Teams to Watch This Baseball Season This is no joke: The 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) season will begin on April 1. While you may wonder whether the Los Angeles Dodgers can repeat as champs or if the Tampa Bay Rays can exact their revenge, don’t count these four teams out just yet. Don’t Count Them Out
MINNESOTA TWINS You don’t make it to the playoffs with the best record in all of baseball and not make it into some kind of list. The Twins are going to be a fun team to watch because they have a chip on their shoulders. While the team managed to score 269 runs in just 60 games, they also lost their record-breaking 18th straight playoff game in 2020. If they can get consistent pitching, both starters and relievers, they will be in the hunt at the end of September. DETROIT TIGERS There is a benefit to repeatedly being near the bottom of the league: You get good draft
picks. The Tigers are on the cusp of finding that special blend of offense and defense in the coming season thanks to some much- needed depth by up-and-coming pitchers and first-round draft picks — so much so that Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has them as the top team that missed the playoffs in 2020 who could make a solid run. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS The award for best offseason ought to go to the Cardinals, who, all winter long, appear to have outwitted their Milwaukee and Chicago rivals — the Brewers and Cubs were the top two teams in the National League Central
last year — by acquiring third baseman Nolan Arenado and re-signing AdamWainwright and Yadier Molina. The Cardinals are favored to win the Central if those off-season moves pay off. SAN DIEGO PADRES After acquiring Manny Machado in a big trade in 2019, the Padres have continued to improve, especially against difficult opponents. The Padres were a tough team last year, defeating the Cardinals in the wild card round and losing to the eventual World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Expect them to be near the top of the standings in September.
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