The Florida Insurance Law Blog
By Jeffrey T. Donner, Esq.
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A three-judge panel of the Third District followed the Fourth District and held that the presuit notice requirement of the statute governing suits arising under a property insurance policy applies retroactively. The court held that the notice requirement is procedural in nature, as it applies only after a coverage decision has already been made. In doing so,…
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In Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Zamanillo, 2024 WL 172611 (3d DCA No. 3D22-1564, Jan. 17, 2024), the Third District affirmed the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the policyholder, noting: As the Third District noted, the case had a long and convoluted procedural history. The Zamanillos filed a breach of contract…
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In Cingari v. First Protective Ins. Co., 377 So.3d 1169 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024), the Fourth District considered a first-party property insurance bad faith action stemming from the homeowner’s property damage claim. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the insurer. The insurer successfully persuaded the trial court to grant summary judgment in…
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Property owners who suffered a covered loss must provide the insurance company with “prompt notice.” Several appellate opinions issued in recent months–after Florida’s change to the “new” summary judgment standard–have driven home the point that this condition precedent (aka “post-loss obligation”)–which is in every insurance contract–will, indeed, be enforced. Several year ago (from 2017 through…
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In Dero Roofing, LLC v. Triton, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-688-SPC-KCD. (M.D. Fla. 2023), a federal trial judge in the Middle District consider the issue of whether an estimate prepared either by a public adjuster or–perhaps–a roofer hired by the public adjuster could serve as a written expert report sufficient to satisfy rule 26’s requirements when…
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In Hughes v. Universal Property & Cas. Ins. Co., 374 So.3d 900 (Case No. 6D23-296) (Fla. 6th DCA Nov. 22, 2023), the Sixth District got it right. The case concerned whether a statutory pre-suit notice requirement, enacted after an insurance policy’s issuance, applies to an even later-filed action for breach of that policy.[1] Bound by precedent,…
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In Citizens Property Ins. Co. v. All Insurance Restoration Serv. (Fla. 3d DCA 2023), the Third District reminded us that interlocutory orders merge into the final judgment. The court had occasion to state this well-settled law because Citizens appealed an interlocutory order after the trial court had granted dismissal with prejudice (meaning that Citizens had…
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In Universal Property v. Navlen (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 20, 2023), the Fourth District reversed a jury verdict in favor of insureds based on the trial court’s allowance of the insureds’ expert testimony. A careful examination of this opinion is critical. The Fourth District described the facts as follows: The appellate court’s focus on appeal…
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In Kozel v. Ostendorf, 629 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 1993), the Florida Supreme Court issued its seminal opinion on the tension created between Florida law’s strong preference for having cases resolved on their merits (substance over form) and the importance of following procedure and enforcing deadlines. The court set forth the facts: The Florida Supreme…
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In Heritage Property & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Condominium Assoc. of Gateway House Apts. Inc. (Fla. 3d DCA 2021), the Third District considered an insurance company’s argument that the insured had not complied with all “post-loss obligations” concerning the production of its books and records for copying and inspection. The trial court found that the…
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