2018

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2452a
276 So. 3d 337

Workers' compensation -- Known loss -- Action involving employer's broker acquiring workers' compensation insurance starting the day of job site injury where broker knew of the injury beforehand but did not inform insurer -- Although policy technically took effect prior to the occurrence of the injury where coverage began at 12:01 a.m. on the date of loss because the policy did not set a specific time at which coverage was to begin, an insurer is not required to cover an insured's known and undisclosed losses -- Finding that insurer is not liable applies specifically to the known and undisclosed injury without more broadly affecting or canceling employer's workers' compensation coverage for other losses

43 Fla. L. Weekly D962a
244 So. 3d 396

Administrative law -- Insurance -- Windstorm -- Rates -- Hearings -- Section 627.351(6)(n)1, which requires Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to submit proposed rates at least annually to Office of Insurance Regulation, which in turn establishes Citizens' rates by final order after consideration of the proposal, does not contemplate administrative review by Citizens' policy holders of final rate orders -- While section 627.371 provides point of entry for policyholders to seek a probable-cause determination as to legality of rates applied with respect to insurance afforded to them, the rates established by the final orders at issue had not yet been applied when petitioner sought review and, accordingly, petitioner was not entitled to formal administrative hearing to challenge either the rate orders or the probable-cause determination

43 Fla. L. Weekly D908a
243 So. 3d 996

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Stacking -- Waiver -- Failure to serve mandatory written notice required by statute in effect at time insurance contract was executed precluded insurance company from claiming that insured orally made a knowing choice regarding stacking of UM coverage

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1220a
246 So. 3d 560

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Jurors -- Peremptory challenge -- Trial court erred in denying defendant insurer's peremptory challenge of African-American female juror on ground that race-neutral explanation for challenge, that juror was inattentive and did not appear engaged in jury selection process, was legally insufficient -- Where trial court agreed with defendant's observation that juror was not particularly engaged, defendant was entitled to presumption that proffered reason for challenge was genuine, and court was obligated to undertake a genuineness analysis prior to disallowing the strike, which court did not do -- New trial required

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1171c
248 So. 3d 240

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Damages -- Remittitur -- Where insurer rejected remittitur for future medical expenses only, it was error to order new trial on all damages -- Remand for new trial solely on future medical expenses

43 Fla. L. Weekly D238a
237 So. 3d 423

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Damages -- Evidence of medical treatment insured might possibly need in the future was insufficient to sustain award of damages for future medical expenses -- Award of damages for future medical expenses is limited to expenses reasonably certain to be incurred -- Remand for trial court to either grant insurer's motion for remittitur or conduct new trial limited to determination of future medical expenses

43 Fla. L. Weekly D100a
235 So. 3d 1017

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Coverage -- Relatives -- Competent substantial evidence supported trial court's finding that daughter of insured was unmarried, unemancipated, and away at college at time of accident and therefore entitled to UM coverage under parents' insurance policy

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2187a
260 So. 3d 342

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Rejection of UM coverage -- Trial court properly denied insurer's summary judgment motion which argued that insured's automobile policy did not provide coverage to insured while riding his motorcycle because the motorcycle was not a scheduled vehicle under the automobile policy -- Where an insured is injured while occupying an owned vehicle that is not listed on the policy, the insured is entitled to uninsured motorist coverage even if he would not have been entitled to liability coverage -- Insurer's claim that insured's automobile policy does not provide UM coverage for the accident because of an exclusion contained within UM rejection form that was electronically signed when automobile policy was procured was waived -- Trial court properly denied insurer's summary judgment motion which argued that insurer was entitled to conclusive presumption that insured rejected UM coverage because insured's daughter signed UM rejection form online on behalf of insured where rejection form, although approved by Department of Insurance Regulation, failed to track precise language of statute -- Trial court erred by excluding probative, admissible evidence on issue of whether insured made a knowing, written rejection of UM coverage -- Evidence that insured orally rejected UM coverage at time policy was procured is relevant to support insurer's claim that insured's daughter, on behalf of insured, electronically signed UM rejection form

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2233b
256 So. 3d 238

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Causation -- Damages -- In action by insured against UM insurer, trial court erred in granting partial summary judgment for insured on issues of causation and damages where there was evidence of preexisting conditions which directly related to the issue of causation -- By granting summary judgment, court improperly removed issue of whether accident caused insured's claimed injuries from jury's consideration -- Evidence -- Although insured had withdrawn his claim for damages for lower back injuries, trial court abused discretion in preventing introduction of evidence of insured's prior lower back injuries, as lower back injuries were interconnected with neck and mid-back injuries for which insured did claim damages

43 Fla. L. Weekly D555a
240 So. 3d 848

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Discovery -- Trial court abused discretion by dismissing insured's breach of contract action against insurer as a sanction for disobeying a court order prohibiting insured from undergoing surgery before a compulsory medical examination could be performed -- Under circumstances, dismissal was too harsh a sanction

43 Fla. L. Weekly D616b
240 So. 3d 867

Consumer law -- Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act -- Trial court properly found that statutory provision that no person may use or provide to others insurance information required to be disclosed by a borrower to a lending institution in connection with a loan for the purpose of soliciting the sale of insurance without the borrower's consent applies only where the borrower is directly solicited -- Court properly dismissed complaint alleging that statute was violated when mortgagee bank exchanged information with servicer that monitors required levels of insurance on mortgaged property, giving servicer right to impose force-placed insurance on mortgaged property

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1149a
252 So. 3d 773

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Limitation of reimbursement payments to schedule of maximum charges -- Policy clearly and unambiguously elected to limit reimbursement payments to the schedule of maximum payments by stating that “in no event will we pay more than 80% of the No-Fault Act ‘schedule of maximum charges' ” -- There is no merit to provider's contention that insurer must elect either the reasonable charge method of calculation or the schedule of maximum charges method of calculation and that because its policy includes both, insurer relies on an unlawful hybrid method of reimbursement calculation -- Question certified: Does the 2013 PIP statute as amended permit an insurer to conduct a fact-dependent calculation of reasonable charges under section 627.736(5)(a) while allowing the insurer to limit its payment in accordance with the schedule of maximum charges under section 627.736(5)(a)(1)?

43 Fla. L. Weekly D583a
245 So. 3d 755

Appeals -- Certiorari -- Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Second-tier review of circuit court's unelaborated appellate decision affirming county court's final judgment for a provider in an action for personal injury protection benefits dismissed, as standard for granting second-tier certiorari review has not been met -- Discussion of standard for second-tier certiorari review

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2403a
263 So. 3d 122

Insurance -- Medicare -- Personal injury protection -- Class action by assignee of Medicare Advantage Organization against personal injury protection insurer seeking reimbursement for payments made by Medicare Advantage Organizations which should have been paid by PIP insurer -- Trial court erred in granting class certification where plaintiff failed to establish that common issues predominate over individual issues -- Further, plaintiff, as assignee, had no standing, as assignment had not occurred at inception of case

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2219a
261 So. 3d 637

Insurance -- Medicare -- Personal injury protection -- Class action by assignee of Medicare Advantage Organization seeking to represent other Medicare Advantage Organizations to prosecute private cause of action for double damages under Medicare Secondary Payer Act against PIP insurer, seeking reimbursement for medical bills which were paid by Medicare Advantage Organizations under Medicare, but which should have been paid by PIP insurer -- Trial court erred in certifying class, as issues common to class will not predominate, and plaintiff's proof to establish liability will necessarily devolve into a series of mini-trials under Florida no-fault law -- Medicare Secondary Payer Act does not preempt Florida no-fault laws, and plaintiff is required to demonstrate that PIP insurer was required to make payment in the first instance for each reimbursement it claims

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1586a
251 So. 3d 303

Insurance -- Life insurance -- Action by son of deceased insured under life insurance policy against his uncle, and brother of insured, alleging that defendant was the named beneficiary of life insurance policy but that proceeds of policy were to be held in trust for the benefit of plaintiff under the provisions of insured's will, and that defendant has refused to pay a portion of the proceeds to plaintiff -- Trial court erred in dismissing complaint with prejudice, as there was an issue as to whether, by agreement or operation of law, defendant became a trustee with respect to the proceeds paid over to him as the designated beneficiary of policy

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2768a
261 So. 3d 708

Insurance -- Life -- Trial court properly imposed constructive trust on life insurance in favor of decedent's former wife where final dissolution of marriage judgment incorporated a marital settlement agreement that required husband to maintain $1 million life insurance policy naming former wife as irrevocable beneficiary for duration of alimony obligation -- Although policy at issue, which was in effect at time of dissolution, originally named former wife as revocable beneficiary, subsequent attempts to name other beneficiaries were nullities, as decedent remained bound by final judgment from which he never appealed or sought relief -- Complaint seeking constructive trust and declaratory judgment was timely filed within four years of decedent's death

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1010a
248 So. 3d 194

Administrative law -- Department of Financial Services -- Revocation of insurance license on basis of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's action against licensee for violations of Securities Exchange Act and National Association of Securities Dealers rules -- Language of statute pursuant to which license was revoked and penalty guidelines of administrative rule are not ambiguous -- Because FINRA's action did not become final until National Adjudicatory Council issued its decision, and that occurred after promulgation of rule authorizing license revocation, application of rule to revoke license did not constitute an ex post facto application -- Application of FINRA decision in license revocation proceeding did not constitute a violation of licensee's right to remain silent

43 Fla. L. Weekly D563b
241 So. 3d 237

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Sinkhole claim -- In insured's breach of contract action against insurer in which the only issue was whether sinkhole activity caused damage to insured's home, it was improper for counsel for insurer, in opening statement and during cross-examination of insured, to raise point that insured stopped making mortgage payments around the same time that he made claim for sinkhole damage -- Insured's nonpayment of his mortgage and his bank's foreclosure complaint were not relevant to the issue to be adjudicated where insurer had not raised defenses of fraud, misrepresentation, or unclean hands -- Trial court erred in denying motion for new trial after jury had returned verdict for insurer

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2351b
257 So. 3d 488

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Post-loss obligations -- Error to enter summary judgment in favor of insurer due to insured's alleged failure to satisfy the post-loss contractual obligations of submitting to examination under oath (EUO), submitting a sworn proof of loss, and providing “prompt notice” of the loss -- Evidence reflecting that insured's counsel repeatedly requested to reschedule the EUO to a mutually convenient date and time due to unavailability showed that the insured had cooperated to some degree and/or provided an explanation for insured's noncompliance which in turn created a question of fact as to whether there was a willful and material breach of EUO provision of policy -- Whether the insured's notice of the claim provided two days after discovering the cause of loss and one day after discovering the actual loss was untimely in view of all facts and circumstances surrounding the loss was an issue of fact for a jury to determine -- Insured's submission of a sworn proof of loss on a different form than that provided by the insurer which contained substantially the same information as the insurer's form except for claimed personal property loss created a question of fact for the jury as to whether such action constituted a material breach of the policy

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2302a
259 So. 3d 179

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water damage to home -- Insurer's election to repair -- Injunction -- Trial court did not err in denying insurer's motion for temporary injunction compelling insureds to execute a work authorization and submit to an appraisal of water damage claim where insurer failed to establish the existence of irreparable harm and lack of adequate remedy at law

43 Fla. L. Weekly D671a
241 So. 3d 254

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Coverage -- Trial court erred in entering summary judgment for insurer, finding that water damage within property allegedly due to a roof leak was not covered because damages were caused by age and wear and tear of roof -- Summary judgment was improper where conflicting reports of parties' experts established that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to the cause of the loss

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2427b
257 So. 3d 1171

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Summary judgment -- Trial court improperly granted final summary judgment to insurer where disputed issues of material fact remain as to whether a covered peril caused an opening in the roof of insured's home, allowing rain water to enter and damage the home's interior

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2584a
260 So. 3d 396

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Property damage -- Discovery -- Trial court abused discretion by allowing insureds' expert to give testimony regarding the cause of damage to insureds' property which differed from his pre-trial deposition, based on expert's post-discovery, mid-trial inspection of insureds' property -- Change in expert's testimony was a surprise to insurer and resulted in prejudice

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1116a
246 So. 3d 438

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water intrusion into home caused by septic tank backup -- Trial court did not err in entering final summary judgment for insurer based on conclusion that insureds failed to overcome presumption that their failure to timely report claim had prejudiced insurer's investigation -- Although there may have been disputed issues of fact as to whether insurer was prejudiced in determining cause of loss, facts, even as presented by insured's adjuster and engineer, showed that insurer would be prejudiced by passage of time in investigating extent of loss, and thus, the cost of repair

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2560b 260 So. 3d 371 Insurance -- Homeowners -- Sinkhole claim -- All-risk policy with sinkhole loss coverage endorsement -- Causation of loss -- Jury instructions -- Concurrent-cause doctrine, not efficient-proximate-cause doctrine, is appropriate theory of recovery to apply when two or more perils converge to cause loss and at least one of the perils is excluded from the policy -- Where evidence was presented that loss was caused by sinkhole activity, a covered peril, and ongoing decay of soils beneath the home, an excluded peril, trial court properly instructed jury on the concurrent-cause doctrine, requiring it to determine if at least one of the concurrent causes was covered under policy -- However, instructions which improperly informed jury that insureds had burden to prove that their property experienced damages from a sinkhole, correctly advised that court had determined that insureds had met their burden of proving that damage occurred to insured home during policy period and that insurer had burden to prove that all damage is non-sinkhole related were confusing and may have misled jury, causing it to conclude that insureds had proved that their property was damaged by a sinkhole, a burden they did not have, and making it impossible for insurer to meet its burden of proving that no loss was sinkhole related

43 Fla. L. Weekly D164a
235 So. 3d 936

Insurance -- Homeowners -- All risk policy -- Jury instructions -- Cause of damage to roof of insured home -- Efficient proximate cause/concurrent cause -- Where insureds presented evidence that damage to roof was caused by hailstorm, but insurer presented evidence that wear and tear was the principal cause of damage, trial court erred in instructing jury that insureds were required to prove that hailstorm was the most substantial or responsible cause of damage -- It was error for court to apply efficient proximate cause doctrine in jury instructions without jury first determining whether an efficient proximate cause could be determined -- Where some of the policy exclusions did not contain anti-concurrent cause provisions, court erred by uniformly applying efficient proximate cause doctrine in jury instructions -- Because policy was all risk policy, court improperly allocated burden of proof by placing initial burden of proof on insureds to demonstrate that hailstorm was the most substantial or responsible cause of damage

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1159a
248 So. 3d 135

Jurisdiction -- Non-residents -- Minimum contacts -- Foreign health insurer -- Trial court erred in finding specific personal jurisdiction over defendant Maryland health insurer where defendant lacked minimum contacts with Florida to satisfy due process -- Proper test for determining existence of minimum contacts is whether defendant purposefully availed itself of benefits of Florida law, and not whether defendant could foresee being hauled into court in Florida -- Where defendant's contact with plaintiff which provided treatment to defendant's insureds was based on plaintiff's customers' unilateral decisions to seek treatment in Florida, there were insufficient minimum contacts to establish specific jurisdiction over defendant

43 Fla. L. Weekly D161b
235 So. 3d 1041

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Coverage -- Trial court did not err in finding that insured was entitled to UM coverage for injuries sustained when she was struck by an underinsured golf cart while walking on paved pathway, despite UM exclusion for vehicles designed “mainly for use off public roads while not on public roads,” where policy provided liability coverage for certain damages caused by insured's use of non-owned golf cart -- Public policy requires UM coverage to be reciprocal to liability coverage

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2710a
260 So. 3d 1123

Insurance -- Uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits -- Family member of insured struck by uninsured/underinsured motorist while operating motorcycle not covered by the policy -- Exclusion provision stating that insurer does not provide UM coverage for insured while occupying “any motor vehicle owned” by the insured which is not covered under the policy -- Exclusion clause in policy is ambiguous as to whether it applies to motorcycles where the policy defines “owned” as having legal title to an “auto,” which is defined as a four-wheel automobile -- Application of policy definitions could reasonably be construed to narrow undefined term “motor vehicle” to certain specified four-wheel vehicles rendering exclusion inapplicable to motorcycles

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2267e
267 So. 3d 453

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Identical policies issued by same insurer to mother and daughter who lived in the same household, with mother's policy providing UM coverage of $100,000 per person and daughter's policy providing UM coverage of $25,000 per person -- In action against insurer by daughter to recover for injuries she sustained in accident with uninsured motorist while driving her own vehicle, it was error for trial court to enter summary judgment finding that daughter was entitled to UM coverage equal to the higher limit provided by the mother's policy -- Daughter was not covered under UM provision of mother's policy due to exclusion in mother's policy which provided that “There is no coverage for an insured who sustains bodily injury while occupying a vehicle owned by any resident relative if it is not your car”

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1523a
250 So. 3d 716

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Exclusions -- Constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over a long period of time -- Jury instructions -- Trial court erroneously instructed jury about the duty to adjust claim, which transformed case into a referendum on the quality of the adjuster's performance instead of focusing the jury on the factual issue of whether the loss fell under the policy exclusion -- Trial court also erred in instructing jury on how to construe insurance contract, as construction of insurance policy is question of law for court

43 Fla. L. Weekly D446a
241 So. 3d 925

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 43 Fla. L. Weekly D1138a

Insurance -- Homeowners -- All risk policy -- Exclusions -- Exclusion for damage caused by constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over a period of 14 or more days did not exclude coverage for damage caused during the first 13 days that water leaked from water supply line to refrigerator

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2723a
261 So. 3d 684

Insurance -- Uninsured motorist -- Phantom vehicle -- Plaintiff did not improperly stack inferences to show that the negligence of the driver of a pickup truck from which a ladder fell onto the roadway on a bridge was the cause of accident resulting from the ladder being on the roadway -- Inference that ladder fell on roadway from phantom vehicle was established to exclusion of all other reasonable inferences -- Further inference that owner of vehicle was negligent in failing to properly secure ladder was reasonable and permissible -- Trial court properly denied insurer's motion for directed verdict which alleged that plaintiff improperly stacked inferences

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1713b
252 So. 3d 799

Insurance -- General liability -- Duty to defend and indemnify -- Trial court did not err in denying insurer's motion for summary judgment on its duty to defend insured pharmacy in underlying lawsuit in which a plaintiff asserted claims against pharmacy and its employees for negligent acts causing her injuries in connection with a miscarriage that was caused by plaintiff's then-boyfriend duping her into taking an abortifacient drug plaintiff believed to be an antibiotic -- Although insurer argued that claims fell within policy's “professional services” exclusion, trial court correctly reasoned that the allegations in the underlying suit could potentially be deemed to be unrelated to professional services and bring tort action within coverage provided by policy -- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of insurer on its duty to indemnify pharmacy from any damages attributable to it in underlying lawsuit where there were genuine issues of material fact as to whether pharmacy or its employees were ordinarily or professionally negligent

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2258b
255 So. 3d 508

Insurance -- Dismissal of insureds' complaint against insurer for fraud on the court -- Trial court erred in dismissing complaint without conducting evidentiary hearing requested by insureds to permit them to refute insurer's allegations of fraud

43 Fla. L. Weekly D885a
248 So. 3d 180

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Discovery -- In breach of contract action against insurer in which coverage was in dispute, it was a departure from essential requirements of law to compel insurer to produce items from its claim file

43 Fla. L. Weekly D150b
234 So. 3d 843

Insurance -- Discovery -- Privilege -- Trial court departed from essential requirements of law when, after in camera review, it entered order compelling production of documents insurer claimed were protected by work product privilege and attorney-client privilege without making specific findings addressing each privilege claim -- Remand for further proceedings

43 Fla. L. Weekly D573a
240 So. 3d 22

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- PIP insurer is not required to apply a policy deductible to the total amount of a provider's invoices to an insured prior to applying any fee schedule found in section 627.736 -- Insurer must reduce the provider's charges to statutorily-approved permissive fee schedule before applying the deductibles -- Conflict certified -- In-depth discussion of PIP statute, focusing on reasonableness, interpretation of statute, and application of statute to instant case

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2463b

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- When calculating the amount of PIP benefits due, the deductible is to be subtracted from the total medical charges before applying the statutory reimbursement limitations provided in section 627.736(5)(a)1.b., Florida Statutes (2014) -- Conflict certified -- Question certified: When calculating the amount of PIP benefits due an insured, does section 627.739(2), Florida Statutes, require that the deductible be subtracted from the total amount of medical charges before applying the reimbursement limitation under section 627.736(5)(a)1.b., or must the reimbursement limitation be applied first and the deductible subtracted from the remaining amount?

43 Fla. L. Weekly D29a
234 So. 3d 824

Insurance -- Uninsured/underinsured motorist -- Trial court erred by entering directed verdict in favor of plaintiffs on issues of causation and permanency of injury where there was sufficient conflicting evidence upon which jury could have based its decision -- Trial court erred in granting new trial based on plaintiffs' contention that trial court improperly limited their questioning during voir dire where plaintiffs failed to notify trial court of any challenge to the purported limitation of voir dire

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1588d
249 So. 3d 779

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- Statute requires that deductible be applied to 100% of expenses and losses before reducing amount paid pursuant to statutory reimbursement limitation -- Conflict certified -- Question certified: When calculating the amount of PIP benefits due an insured, does section 627.739(2) require that the deductible be subtracted from the total amount of medical charges before applying the reimbursement limitation under section 627.736(5)(a)1.b., or must the reimbursement limitation be applied first and the deductible subtracted from the remaining amount?

43 Fla. L. Weekly D570a
238 So. 3d 937

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- PIP insurer is not required to apply a policy deductible to the total amount of a provider's invoices to an insured prior to applying any fee schedule found in section 627.736 -- Insurer must reduce the provider's charges to statutorily-approved permissive fee schedule before applying the deductibles -- Conflict certified

43 Fla. L. Weekly D569c
238 So. 3d 852

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- PIP insurer is not required to apply a policy deductible to the total amount of a provider's invoices to an insured prior to applying any fee schedule found in section 627.736 -- Insurer must reduce the provider's charges to statutorily-approved permissive fee schedule before applying the deductibles -- Conflict certified

43 Fla. L. Weekly D318a
236 So. 3d 1183

Insurance -- Personal injury protection -- Deductible -- When calculating the amount of PIP benefits due, the deductible is to be subtracted from the total medical charges before applying the statutory reimbursement limitations provided in section 627.736(5)(a)1.b, Florida Statutes (2014) -- Question certified: When calculating the amount of PIP benefits due an insured, does section 627.739(2), Florida Statutes, require that the deductible be subtracted from the total amount of medical charges before applying the reimbursement limitation under section 627.736(5)(a)1.b., or must the reimbursement limitation be applied first and the deductible subtracted from the remaining amount?

43 Fla. L. Weekly D948e
244 So. 3d 1189

Insurance -- Homeowners -- An insurer is not prohibited from requiring that the insured pay a deductible when the insurer invokes its right to repair a partial loss

43 Fla. L. Weekly D855b
246 So. 3d 447

Insurance -- Appeals -- Appellate court has no jurisdiction to review trial court's denial, without elaboration, of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's motions to dismiss claims on basis of sovereign immunity -- Trial court's orders did not state as a basis for denial of motions that Citizens was not entitled to sovereign immunity

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2740a
261 So. 3d 576

Insurance -- Civil procedure -- Sanctions -- Dismissal -- Amended complaint filed by plaintiff in response to court order failed to mention one of the two consolidated case numbers or the date of loss associated with that case number -- Trial court abused its discretion in dismissing case with prejudice as a sanction where there was no evidence that defects in complaint were due to willful noncompliance or deliberate disregard of a court order, errors in amended complaint were easily correctable, attorney had not previously been sanctioned, and there was no evidence that plaintiff personally had any involvement in his attorney's negligent drafting

43 Fla. L. Weekly D679a
239 So. 3d 218

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Sinkhole claim -- Bad faith -- Trial court erred in dismissing first party bad faith action against insurer on basis that insureds could not maintain a bad faith action without alleging that there had been a favorable resolution of an underlying civil action for insurance benefits, where insurer paid insurance policy limits after expiration of sixty-day cure period -- Underlying action on insurance contract is not required for there to be a determination of insurer's liability and extent of damages as a prerequisite to filing a bad faith claim -- Insurer's payment of insurance claim after the sixty-day cure period constitutes a determination of insurer's liability for coverage and extent of damages even when there is no underlying action

43 Fla. L. Weekly D200a
234 So. 3d 856

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Sinkhole claim -- Bad faith -- An insured is not required to wait until the appraisal process is completed before filing a civil remedy notice -- The filing of a civil remedy notice before the appraisal process is complete and damages are determined does not render the CRN a legal nullity, thereby precluding a bad faith claim

43 Fla. L. Weekly D425b
239 So. 3d 751

Torts -- Insurance -- Automobile liability -- Settlement agreement -- Where defendant's automobile liability insurer complied with essential terms of plaintiff's settlement demand and tendered a check for the full limits of policy, the fact that settlement check included hospital which may have had a lien for medical services as a co-payee did not convert the acceptance of plaintiff's offer into a counteroffer -- Trial court properly enforced settlement and dismissed plaintiff's action

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2379a
257 So. 3d 1029

Insurance -- Automobile -- Post-loss obligations -- Examination under oath -- Jury instructions that in order to prevail on its failure to cooperate defense, insurer was required to establish that insured did not comply with post-loss obligations and that insurer was “actually” prejudiced by this failure to comply was incorrect statement of law -- To establish failure to cooperate defense, insurer must show “material failure” to cooperate which “substantially” prejudiced insurer -- New trial required

43 Fla. L. Weekly D86a
240 So. 3d 43

Insurance -- Automobile liability -- Nonjoinder of insurer in action against insured -- Third-party bad faith claim asserted against insurer in negligence action against insured -- Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in abating plaintiff's third-party bad faith claim to await resolution of plaintiff's underlying negligence action against insured rather than dismissing third-party bad faith claim

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2430a
264 So. 3d 1018

Insurance -- Automobile -- Windshield replacement or repair

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1592a
250 So. 3d 858

Insurance -- Attorney's fees -- Trial court abused discretion in awarding attorney's fees against insurer under court's inherent authority to impose sanctions for egregious or bad faith conduct based on misconduct of attorney retained to represent insured where there was no evidence to support finding that insurer directed and orchestrated actions of the attorney, and evidence did not support finding that insurer had engaged in egregious or bad faith conduct -- Appeals -- Appellate court has jurisdiction of appeal of order awarding attorney's fees where order is an executable judgment against insurer concluding a portion of litigation ancillary to ongoing litigation, and conclusion of attorney's fees proceedings ended judicial labor as to insurer -- Prior certiorari proceeding which was limited to attorney's disqualification did not bar appeal under law of the case doctrine

43 Fla. L. Weekly D101a
235 So. 3d 1018

Attorney's fees -- Proposal for settlement -- Timeliness of service -- Service of proposal of settlement on 91st day after insured's complaint against insurer was served on Chief Financial Officer of state was valid and binding on insurer when served and was not premature under rule 1.442(b) -- 90-day period during which proposal for settlement may not be served commenced when complaint was served on CFO and not, as insurer argued, when CFO forwarded complaint to insurer

43 Fla. L. Weekly D395a
239 So. 3d 183

Insurance -- Attorney's fees -- Proposal for settlement -- Where trial court had entered summary judgment for insurer in insured's action alleging breach of insurance contract on basis that claimed loss was not covered under policy, it was an abuse of discretion to deny insurer's motion for attorney's fees pursuant to offer of judgment statute on ground that insurer's nominal proposal for settlement was not made in good faith -- Insurer had a reasonable basis at the time of the proposal to conclude that its exposure was nominal

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2000h
254 So. 3d 978

Attorney's fees -- Proposal for settlement -- Insured prevailing in action against uninsured motorist insurer -- When case involves a first-party bad faith claim alleging that an insurer is liable for an amount in excess of policy limits, the full application of such judgment against the insurer, including an award of attorney's fees and costs based on section 768.79, should not be considered by the trial court until the bad faith litigation is resolved -- Trial court appropriately stayed execution against insurer of any amount over the policy limits pending resolution of bad faith case, but erred in awarding trial and appellate fees and costs prior to resolution of bad faith litigation

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1934b
259 So. 3d 169

Insurance -- Attorney's fees -- Insured prevailing in action against insurer -- Contingency fee multiplier -- Trial court did not err in awarding insured a 2.0 contingency fee multiplier -- Award of contingency fee multiplier is no longer limited to rare and exceptional cases -- Trial court did not abuse discretion in finding that relevant market required a multiplier to obtain competent counsel, that results obtained warranted a multiplier, and that complexity of case warranted application of multiplier

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1140b
242 So. 3d 1208

Insurance -- Attorney's fees -- Insured prevailing in action against insurer -- Trial court did not err in applying contingency fee multiplier to attorney's fee award

43 Fla. L. Weekly D353b
241 So. 3d 221

Insurance -- Attorney's fees -- Insured prevailing in action against insurer -- Contingent fee multiplier -- Trial court's award of contingent fee multiplier without making a finding as to whether market required the multiplier was an error apparent on face of record, so that transcript of evidentiary hearing is not required for appellate court to reverse award and remand to trial court to consider issue anew

43 Fla. L. Weekly D316b
239 So. 3d 747

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Assignment of claim benefits -- Trial court erred in dismissing assignee's action against insurer on basis that assignment was invalid because insured's mortgagee had not consented to the assignment as required by policy -- Policy language restricting assignment of post-loss claim benefits is contrary to Florida law

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1076a
249 So. 3d 681

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Assignment of right to policy benefits to one firm that provided services following water damage to home was not barred by insured's assignment of benefits to a different firm that also provided services following the incident -- When assignment of “any and all insurance rights, benefits, and causes of action” under property insurance policy is read in context of entire assignment and purpose for which it was entered, it is evident that insured assigned all rights under policy to payment for the specific services provided by each assignee

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2056a
255 So. 3d 344

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Assignment -- Clause in insurance contract requiring signatures of all insureds and mortgagees for an assignment of benefits was enforceable -- Conflict certified

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2178a
261 So. 3d 613

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water damage -- Post-loss assignment of claim -- Trial court properly found that assignment to public adjuster in one case was invalid because it violated state law prohibiting public adjusters from entering into a contract that charged homeowners more than 20% of the payments made on the insurance claims where agreement required homeowners to pay 20% of any recovered insurance money plus attorney's fees and costs -- Genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether assignment in second case violated 20% cap where homeowners agreed to pay assignee 10% of recovered insurance money plus prevailing party attorney's fees and costs, and there remained a genuine issue of material fact as to how much assignee would be awarded in attorney's fees and costs if it prevailed in the litigation -- Assignee's argument that it was no longer acting as homeowners' public adjuster once lawsuits were filed is without merit where undisputed evidence was that insureds engaged the professional services of assignee for collection and pursuit of payment on their post-loss claims and agreements gave assignee discretion to file claim in court if necessary -- Statute excepting duly licensed attorneys from definition of public “adjuster,” and from requirements of section 626.854, including 20% cap, did not apply to assignee, which agreed that it was a duly licensed public adjuster

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1513a
251 So. 3d 181

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water damage -- Trial court erred by denying insurer's motion for new trial grounded on insured's improper arguments and questioning of insurer's litigation manager that shifted focus inappropriately to insurer's claims handling and bad faith, which were not issues before the jury -- New trial also warranted by highly prejudicial and inflammatory comments made by insured's counsel in closing argument improperly denigrating insurer's defenses -- Remand for new trial -- Although insured's counsel's references to insured's payment of premiums during opening statement and closing argument may have been improper and irrelevant to dispute at issue, whether objected-to comments alone were so highly prejudicial and inflammatory as to warrant new trial when viewed in context of counsel's argument as whole is questionable

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1929a
259 So. 3d 167

Appeals -- Non-final orders -- Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water damage -- Appraisal -- Circuit court acting in its appellate capacity did not depart from essential requirements of law in dismissing for lack of jurisdiction an appeal of county court non-final order compelling appraisal and staying proceedings -- No merit to contention that the county court order was a final order entitling opposing party to a direct appeal

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1684a
251 So. 3d 931

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Damage to roof and home's interior caused by wind from tornado -- Appraisal -- Trial court erred by denying insurer's motion to compel appraisal to determine causation and amount of loss where insurer did not wholly deny that there was a covered loss

43 Fla. L. Weekly D854a
244 So. 3d 310

Insurance -- Homeowners -- Water damage -- Trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of insurer where insurer moved to compel appraisal immediately upon learning of insureds' suit disputing amount of payment and timely paid appraisal award, without objection by homeowners

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2321a
256 So. 3d 245

Insurance -- Condominiums -- Appraisal -- Insurer complied with post-loss obligation to adjust claim within ninety days of receipt of the claim by making an advance payment within that time period -- Insurer engaged in a meaningful exchange of information regarding its calculation of the claim amount where adjusters and consultants for both parties met for inspections and exchanged claim related documentation -- Impartial appraiser -- Insurer's chosen appraiser did not breach policy language requiring parties to select an impartial appraiser despite insured's appraiser being an employee of building consultant hired by insurer and the boss of another employee involved in actually considering the insured's claim -- An appraiser's direct or indirect financial interest in the outcome of appraisal including any arrangement for a contingent fee requires disclosure as provided by the Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes rather than disqualification of appraiser -- No error in declining to allow extensive discovery through depositions as a precondition to the appraisal process where trial court had ample evidence that the parties disagreed regarding claim amount, meaningful information had been exchanged regarding the parties' positions, and appraisal process will incentivize the parties to share information supporting computation of labor costs and materials required to compensate the insured in accordance with the policy

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2430b
264 So. 3d 1008

Appeals -- Certiorari -- Due process -- Insurance -- Automobile -- Windshield repair or replacement -- Circuit court departed from essential requirements of law when it denied insurer's petition for writ of certiorari without ruling on insurer's motion to strike respondent's unauthorized response brief or, in the alternative, for leave to file reply to the unauthorized response, and insurer's motion to strike irrelevant supplement authority submitted by respondent

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2745b
261 So. 3d 580

Insurance -- Annuities -- Structured settlement agreements -- Transfer of payment rights -- Court approval -- Trial court erred in entering judgment on the pleadings in an action seeking declaration as to who was entitled to future payment from a structured settlement agreement where there remained a question of fact as to the validity of the court order approving transfer of payment rights from original payee pursuant to the Structured Settlement Protection Act -- Finding that original payee had not contested payment to transferee not basis for judgment on pleadings because statute prohibits payee from waiving provisions of SSPA -- Argument that insurer was estopped from urging error because it accepted benefit of the transfer order is without merit, as there was no allegation that insurer benefitted from the order

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2434a
264 So. 3d 1013

Insurance -- Automobile -- Windshield repair or replacement -- Deductible -- Circuit court departed from essential requirements of law, resulting in manifest injustice, by failing to analyze and interpret section 627.7288, Florida Statutes (2016), which provides that deductible provisions of motor vehicle insurance policy providing comprehensive coverage or combined additional coverage shall not be applicable to da
mage to windshield of vehicle covered under policy -- Circuit court's apparent conclusion that without a citation to appellate case law that addresses the subject of county court's ruling, insurer was unable to establish that the county court departed from essential requirements of law amounted to improper restriction of the scope of circuit court's own certiorari review -- Circuit court's failure to adhere to clearly established principles of law by analyzing and interpreting statute resulted in manifest injustice because the county court erroneously construed appraisal cost requirement of policy as a deductible that violated the statute, although statute contains no express prohibition against requiring an insured to pay his or her own appraisal costs where there is a dispute over windshield repair/replacement costs -- Where contracting parties have freely contracted for appraisal cost requirement, parties or their assignees may not rely on section 627.7288 to avoid their responsibility to pay such costs

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1503a
249 So. 3d 1312

Insurance -- All-risk homeowners insurance -- Water damage -- Exclusions -- Loss caused by constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over period of 14 or more days from within a plumbing system -- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of insurer where evidence at summary judgment stage established that loss was caused by water leakage and it was undisputed that property was exposed to water for more than 14 days, but evidence failed to establish that loss did not occur within the first 14 days of exposure

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1860a
253 So. 3d 632

Torts -- Insurance agents -- Negligent procurement of insurance -- Unjust enrichment -- Condominium associations' claims against insurance agent that failed to procure a contractually required “Payment and Performance Bond” on behalf of contractor who performed post-hurricane roof repairs -- Damages -- Jury instructions -- Trial court did not err in instructing jury that proper measure of damages in negligent procurement of insurance claim is loss that would have been covered had the insurance been properly obtained -- Because associations sustained no loss during construction, they were limited to criminal and/or administrative penalties against agent -- Evidence -- Trial court abused its discretion by refusing to admit a consent order relating to suspension of principal's insurance license and the agent's admissions -- Consent order and admissions did not fall within purview of statute relating to inadmissibility of offers to compromise a claim -- Error was harmless

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1996a
255 So. 3d 423

Jurisdiction -- Non-residents -- Action against foreign state insurance agent alleging that defendant negligently procured automobile insurance that did not provide sufficient underinsured motorist benefits -- Defendant's registration to do business in Florida and designation of a registered agent for service of process in Florida is insufficient, without more, to establish personal jurisdiction in Florida courts -- Plaintiff did not establish basis for asserting general jurisdiction over defendant where complaint did not allege facts sufficient to establish that defendant engaged in substantial and not isolated activity in Florida -- Due process standard for exercise of general jurisdiction over defendant was not satisfied where there was no showing that defendant is so heavily engaged in activity in Florida as to render it essentially at home in Florida -- There was no showing that defendant committed a tortious act in Florida or breached an agreement in Florida so as to subject it to jurisdiction in Florida courts -- Exercise of specific jurisdiction over defendant would be contrary to due process where there is no connection between Florida and the specific claims at issue