Insurance Law

 

Jacoby & Meyers Merely A Broker For Lawyers Committing Insurance Fraud, Alleges OC Grand Jury

From billboards to daytime TV, advertisements for the law firm of Jacoby & Meyers are inescapable.

It can be difficult getting through a television show or sporting event without hitting a commercial for the 49-year-old law group, said to have 300 attorneys in 50 states. It’s even the official law firm for the Los Angeles Dodgers and earned a line in a Beastie Boys song: “Got more suits than Jacoby & Meyers.”

But the company started by Len Jacoby and Stephen Meyers in 1972 in recent years has been nothing more than a name, a brand sold to a marketing whiz operating what Orange County authorities allege is a broker service for lawyers in violation of workers’ compensation law.

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The operation falsely advertised phone numbers under the “Jacoby & Meyers” name, giving the public the impression they could call and hire the law firm, according to an April 20 Orange County Grand Jury indictment. Marketer Steve Mehr was charged with multiple insurance fraud schemes from 2011 to 2016. Also charged in some of the illegal marketing operations was George Hobson III.

Callers to the advertised numbers connected with operators for a company called Web Shark 360, formed by Mehr and based in Irvine. Potential clients were recruited through toll-free telephone numbers, online inquiry submissions or web-based live-chats

The clients were sent to attorneys who paid a monthly fee for referrals or kicked back a part of their earnings after the cases concluded. Named in the indictment are six of these attorneys, five of whom are from Orange County and practice workers’ compensation law. Personal injury law firms also paid for referrals.

Forty-four witnesses testified before the grand jury, according to the 43-page indictment. Besides the Jacoby & Meyers debacle, the panel heard that from Oct. 1, 2010, to Oct. 1, 2016, Mehr and Hobson collected $3.8 million from 22 workers’ compensation providers and government agencies, including Los Angeles and Riverside counties, for court services provided by companies owned by the two men. The companies, which gathered documents for subpoenas and provided translation services, were part of the insurance scams, said Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office.

California law prohibits insurance providers from paying bills for services procured through unlawful referral schemes, Edds said.

Mehr and Hobson are awaiting arraignment on the charges and have been released on $100,000 bond each.

Telephone messages to “Jacoby & Meyers” officials were not returned. A woman who answered the phone assured it is a real law firm and that she was the receptionist, but she twice forwarded the call to a voicemail message that didn’t include a name. Jacoby still has an active state license to practice law; Meyers died in 1996.

Mehr is represented by Bobby Taghavi at the “Sweet James” law group, another heavy marketer in the Los Angeles basin, as well as attorney Steven Baric. Mehr also is represented by the Hueston Hennigan law firm. All declined comment.

Hobson’s attorney, John Barnett, declined comment.

Florida Governor Signs Property Insurance Bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Friday that is meant to give relief to a large sector of the state’s insurance industry.

Faced with losses from rising claims, the industry welcomed changes that would restrict some practices by contractors. The law would forbid contractors from soliciting homeowners to file roofing claims. The law also would narrow the time frame in which homeowners can file claims, from three years to two years, and enacts new rules on litigation.

While some insurers say the new measures will help keep costs down, critics say it could raise premiums on homeowners who get coverage from the state's provider of last resort. The same legislation raised the cap on annual rate increases that the government-backed insurer, Citizens Property Insurance, can charge its customers. That cap will rise from 10% to 15% over the next five years.

Insurers had sought much more from lawmakers during this year's legislative session, but had to settle for a scaled-back bill that removed some key provisions — including one that would have allowed insurers to more strictly limit coverage for replacing damaged roofs.

The governor signed the bill after holding a brief round table in Sarasota.

Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Property Insurance Bill Into Law

 © Provided by WTSP-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a widely-debated property insurance bill aimed at addressing insurance market woes in Florida Friday.

The governor put pen to paper on the legislation in Sarasota where he hosted a roundtable of state leaders and insurance industry representatives.

The property insurance bill, SB 76, aims to curb roof-damage claims and lawsuits but could increase rates for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida Politics reports.

"Many of you know over the last decades, there's been a lot of ups and downs in this property insurance market," Gov. DeSantis said. "You've seen major premium increases, and you even see some homeowners they just, their policies get canceled. They get dumped on the citizens. So, we wanted to do something to stabilize that."

DeSantis added that the bill aims to give consumers more policies that are "affordable" and that will "protect them from whatever mother nature throws our way."

Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican who sponsored the bill, said it would bolster an insurance market that has seen wide-ranging rate increases and policies pouring into Citizens Property Insurance, according to Florida Politics.

Video: Gov. Ron DeSantis signs coastal resiliency bill (WTSP-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg)

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs coastal resiliency bill

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However, the bill drew criticism during Florida's legislative session from lawmakers who argued about the prospect of price hikes for customers.

“There is no sugar-coating this,” Democratic Sen. Annette Taddeo said, per the Tampa Bay Times. “It literally is going to raise the rates.”

You can watch the full roundtable discussion below.

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