2000

25 Fla. L. Weekly D2771b

25 Fla. L. Weekly D2089bNOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 25 Fla. L. Weekly D2771b

Insurance — Fire — Cancellation of policy — Estoppel — Breach of contract action against insurer which canceled policy after premium finance company sent notice of cancellation for nonpayment of premium — Insurer did not have responsibility to insure that premium finance company complied with statutory notice provisions prior to cancellation of policy, and failure of insurer to establish that premium finance company complied with notice provisions did not preclude summary judgment for insurer — Valid power of attorney executed by insured authorizing premium finance company to cancel policy was condition precedent to cancellation, and insurer was required to inquire about existence of valid power of attorney prior to cancellation — Error to enter summary judgment for insurer on breach of contract count where there was factual issue as to existence of power of attorney executed by insured authorizing premium finance company to act on its behalf in canceling policy — Error to enter summary judgment for insurer in count seeking declaratory relief, asserting that policy was reinstated, and that insurer was estopped from denying coverage because of insurer’s delay in acting on insured’s request for reinstatement of policy and because insurer admitted that but for fire which occurred before insurer acted on reinstatement request, insurer would have reinstated policy

25 Fla. L. Weekly D1563a

Workers’ compensation — Insurance — Cancellation of coverage — Judge of compensation claims properly found that cancellation of policy by Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association because of employer’s failure to submit quarterly earnings report was invalid, where FWCJUA’s rules and procedures did not authorize termination of coverage based simply upon failure to submit quarterly report — FWCJUA was estopped from asserting cancellation of coverage because it accepted employer’s premium payment after it had issued notice of cancellation

25 Fla. L. Weekly D1372c

Insurance — Liability — General business insurance — Termination of policy — Where insurer provided notice of nonrenewal less than forty-five days before the termination date stated in policy, but notice expressly extended the policy termination date to a specific date beyond that stated in policy, policy was still in effect when fire occurred three days prior to revised termination date — Although coverage under new policy with another carrier commenced prior to the day the fire occurred, that policy did not replace the existing coverage afforded by insurance through the termination date specified in notice of nonrenewal

25 Fla. L. Weekly D200a

Insurance — Bond requirement for insurer not licensed as insurer or certified to do business in Florida — In action against insurer of parasailing business for failure to defend and improper denial of coverage for personal injury claim arising out of parasailing accident, trial court did not err in striking pleadings of unauthorized insurer which failed to post bond — No merit to insurer’s claim that insurer is exempt from statutory requirement to post bond because policy is wet marine and transportation insurance policy — Because endorsement to policy adds special liability insurance, policy falls within definition of two kinds of insurance — Exemption from bond may apply to wet marine portion of policy, but it does not apply to liability portion

25 Fla. L. Weekly D413b

Insurance — Bad faith — Error to refuse to stay bad faith claim against carrier pending resolution of underlying coverage dispute

25 Fla. L. Weekly S559aNOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 26 Fla. L. Weekly S754c

Civil procedure — Service of process — Dissolved corporation — Pursuant to section 48.101, Florida Statutes (1991), service of process on dissolved corporation must be made on one or more directors of corporation as trustee rather than on corporation’s registered agent — Chapter 48, rather than chapter 607, is the Florida statute that expressly mandates the method by which service is to be perfected on dissolved corporation — 1989 amendments to section 607.1405 did not repeal by implication the express requirements of section 48.101 — In case at issue involving allegations that insurer had breached its policy by refusing to pay default judgment against its insured up to policy limits, court erred in denying insurer’s motion to set aside default judgment on ground that judgment was void because it had been procured against a dissolved corporation over which service had not been perfected

25 Fla. L. Weekly D1011b

Insurance — Life insurance — Torts — Damages — Bad faith refusal to insure — Evidence sufficient for jury to find that plaintiffs were denied life insurance solely because of their national origin — Under impact rule, plaintiffs could not recover non-economic damages for mental anguish and emotional distress — Where there was no finding that defendant’s violation indicated a general business practice, plaintiffs were not entitled to punitive damages — Where plaintiffs’ health has deteriorated, and they have become uninsurable except at higher premiums, measure of actual damages is difference between cost of defendant’s premiums had policies originally issued and present cost of same insurance — Plaintiffs entitled to recovery of attorney’s fees and costs

25 Fla. L. Weekly S172a

Insurance — Fire — Bad faith failure to settle claim — Where insurer paid underlying contract damages within sixty days from date insured filed bad faith notice, but did not pay extra-contractual damages flowing from insurer’s alleged failure to make good faith attempt to settle claim, insured is precluded from maintaining bad faith action against insurer — If an insured suffered extra-contractual damages prior to giving its insurer written notice of a bad faith violation and the insurer paid all contractual damages, but none of the extra-contractual damages, within sixty days after the written notice was filed, the insurer has paid “the damages” or corrected “the circumstances giving rise to the violation,” as those terms are contemplated by section 624.155(2)(d), Florida Statutes, thereby precluding the insured’s first-party bad faith action to recover the extra-contractual damages

25 Fla. L. Weekly S242b