41 Fla. L. Weekly D2384a
201 So. 3d 1243
Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claim — Breach of contract — Initial denial of sinkhole claim and subsequent extension of coverage after insureds filed suit and neutral evaluator confirmed sinkhole damage
MARCIAL GARCIA and MARTINA GARCIA, Appellants, v. TOWER HILL SIGNATURE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 5th District. Case No. 5D15-1628. Opinion filed October 21, 2016. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hernando County, Richard Tombrink, Jr., Judge. Counsel: Timothy W. Weber, and Joseph P. Kenny, of Weber, Crabb & Wein, P.A., St. Petersburg, for Appellants. Scot E. Samis and Ashley R. Kellgren, of Traub, Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry, LLP, St. Petersburg, for Appellee.
(PER CURIAM.) Marcial and Martina Garcia appeal the trial court’s final judgment in favor of Tower Hill Signature Insurance Company, which, despite initially denying the Garcias’ sinkhole claim, ultimately extended coverage after the Garcias filed suit and a neutral evaluator confirmed the sinkhole damage. In finding that Tower Hill’s initial denial of coverage did not breach the Garcias’ insurance policy, the trial court correctly applied then-binding precedent recently disapproved by the Florida Supreme Court in Johnson v. Omega Ins. Co., 41 Fla. L. Weekly S415 (Fla. Sept. 29, 2016). As such, we reverse the final judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with Johnson.
REVERSED and REMANDED with INSTRUCTIONS. (LAWSON, C.J., TORPY and WALLIS, JJ., concur.)
