MSPA Claims 1 LLC v. Infinity Auto – No Collection Without Recollection

For MSP Recovery LLC, it apparently takes more than two things to make a thing go right. Collecting fees is now out of sight.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, dismissed yet another MSP Recovery LLC subsidiary claim with prejudice. It seems this time around the Plaintiffs could not establish that MSPA Claims 1, a subsidiary of MSP Recovery, was in fact acting on behalf of the now defunct Florida Healthcare Plus, Inc. Medicare Advantage Organization, despite producing affidavits speaking to the relationship from top brass within both companies.  The assignment was allegedly first with La Ley Recovery Systems prior to MSPA Claims 1.

On October 19, 2018, The Southern District of Florida, ruled in the case of MSPA Claims 1, LLC v. Infinity Auto Ins. Co., granting summary judgment. The Court also dismissed the case with prejudice.

In the present case, the Court allowed over sixteen months of discovery to go forward with this claim. Despite this timeframe, Plaintiff relied on only two affidavits to establish standing (based upon assignment from FHCP to La Ley Recovery) for the claim: the first of the Defense’s own attorney John. H. Ruiz and the second of Susan Molina, CEO of FHCP. Putting aside that it is generally improper for a lawyer in a case to testify as to his legal opinion regarding facts in the case[1], the Court found that the testimony about conversations between Attorney Ruiz and Susan Molina was “merely Mr. Ruiz’s mental impression following conversations…” that “does not lay the necessary factual predicate for Mr. Ruiz’s lay opinion testimony.”[2]

The Court then went on to examine the Affidavit of Susan Molina, who essentially attested to not remembering specific conversations with John Ruiz and did not specifically recall approving assignment to La Ley Recovery. The Court very clearly points out what is missing from the affidavit: a positive statement that express assignment was given to La Ley Recovery.

After that analysis, the Court found in a very familiar fashion, that the Plaintiff lacked standing even despite the Plaintiff’s position that such was demonstrated via the settlement agreement between FHCP and its liquidators. As has been held in several previous MSP Recovery cases, a settlement agreement cannot retroactively establish standing after a case is filed. As no assignment was found and standing was lacking, the Court dismissed the matter with prejudice.

 

[1] Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 67 S Ct. 385, 394, 91 L Ed. 451 (1947)

[2] MSAP Claims 1, LLC v. Infinity Auto Ins. Co., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181446

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