2003

28 Fla. L. Weekly D2547c

Insurance — Bad faith — Trial court properly entered summary judgment for insurer in insured’s bad faith action against insurer where insured did not meet conditions precedent to maintenance of a first-party bad faith action — Bad faith claims alleging that insurer had filed groundless lawsuits against insured were cured before expiration of sixty days after notice of violation — Claim that insurer filed groundless declaratory judgment action in federal court with regard to insured’s lightning claim was cured by jury verdict in favor of insured on his counterclaim in that action — Claim that insurer filed groundless declaratory judgment action in federal court with regard to insured’s windstorm claim was cured by dismissal of insurer’s claim in district court

28 Fla. L. Weekly D1193a

Insurance — Automobile liability — Rental vehicles — Excess coverage — Supplemental liability insurance — Exclusions — Family member — Insured who purchased supplemental liability insurance at time she rented vehicle seeking coverage for injuries sustained by her daughter in one-vehicle accident which occurred when insured was driving rental car in which daughter was passenger — General statement in rental agreement that SLI insurance is subject to other specific exclusions, which are summarized in a separate document available on request, does not satisfy section 627.421, which requires delivery of every insurance policy to insured “or to the person entitled thereto” no more than sixty days after effectuation of coverage — Further, statute requires that any automobile liability policy contain on front page a summary of exclusions and limitations contained in policy — Because neither readable policy nor policy with front page summary of exclusions was delivered to insured, trial court properly held that insured was not bound by family member exclusion to supplemental liability insurance coverage

28 Fla. L. Weekly D2844a

Jurisdiction — Non-residents — Declaratory judgments — Insurance — Automobile liability — Other insurance — Priorities — European liability insurer which, through tour operator, sold excess coverage to protect Europeans driving rental cars while visiting in the United States is subject to personal jurisdiction in declaratory action brought to determine coverage for Florida accidents — Foreign insurer had contracted to insure a risk located in Florida under section 48.193(1)(d), notwithstanding insurer’s contention that there was no risk in Florida at time of contract because contract was entered into with tour operator before insurer ever actually insured a tourist — Due process was satisfied because, by specifically providing excess insurance for tourists driving in Florida, insurer should have foreseen that it would be haled into court in Florida if coverage dispute arose

28 Fla. L. Weekly D1611b

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith settlement of claims — Question certified: In an automobile accident scenario involving clear liability, multiple claims, and inadequate policy limits, does insurance good faith law require that an insurer reasonably investigate all claims prior to payment of any claim, keep the insured informed of the claims resolution process, and attempt to minimize the magnitude of possible excess judgments against the insured?

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 28 Fla. L. Weekly D1611b

28 Fla. L. Weekly D1023b

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith settlement of claims — Trial court erred in entering summary judgment for insurer in action alleging that insurer acted in bad faith by exhausting policy limits in settling some claims arising out of accident involving multiple deaths and injuries while other claims went unpaid — Insurer had duty to fully investigate all claims to determine how to best limit the insured’s liability, to settle as many claims as possible within the policy limits, and to avoid indiscriminately settling selected claims and leaving the insured at risk of excess judgments that could have been minimized by wiser settlement requirements — After full investigation and communication with the insured, insurer could have elected to follow a strategy of settlement with selected claimants, if that policy were reasonable — The reasonableness of that policy is a question for the jury — Insurer’s good faith duty to the insured requires it to fully investigate all claims arising from a multiple claim accident, keep the insured informed of the claim resolution process, and minimize the magnitude of possible excess judgments against the insured by reasoned claim settlement — Whether insurer has met its good faith duty and undertaken a reasonable claims settlement strategy are questions for a jury to decide

28 Fla. L. Weekly D1142a

Insurance — Automobile liability — Florida Insurance Guaranty Association — Claim for excess judgment allegedly caused by FIGA’s failure to defend insured is not cognizable under FIGA Act — Error to enter summary judgment for plaintiff in action against FIGA

28 Fla. L. Weekly D312b

Insurance — Automobile — Cancellation of policy — Unearned premium — Interest — Section 627.7283 clearly articulates legislature’s intent that insurer be given thirty days within which to return unearned premium, and clearly states that interest will begin to accrue at rate of 8% if refund is not made within that thirty-day grace period — Statute does not deny access to courts but simply imposes reasonable restriction on filing of claim for interest

28 Fla. L. Weekly D2830a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Error to award fees to attorney who represented plaintiff on contingency fee basis in action against insurer for failure to pay personal injury protection benefits where attorney voluntarily withdrew from representation of plaintiff before suit was settled — Where attorney withdrew when she married and moved to another state, the withdrawal was voluntary

28 Fla. L. Weekly D2371a

Insurance — Uninsured motorist — Attorney’s fees — Error to award attorney’s fees to insured where insurer did not dispute UM coverage under the policy, as is required for recovery of fees pursuant to section 627.727(8) — Court rejects insured’s contention that insurer’s acknowledgment that a policy existed between the parties and that coverage provided was subject to terms and conditions of the policy was not an admission of coverage — Denial of paragraph of complaint which alleged that insurer was responsible for damages sustained by plaintiff as result of actions of the other driver, in that other driver was underinsured to compensate plaintiff for injuries, and further alleged that plaintiff was legally entitled to recover uninsured/underinsured motorist benefits from insurer did not amount to a denial of coverage — Any denial by insurer was as to issues of liability of underinsured motorist, damages, permanency, and other statutory threshold, which are non-coverage defenses — Joint pre-trial stipulation, witness and exhibit lists, discovery, and proposed verdict forms all show that coverage was not an issue

28 Fla. L. Weekly S455a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Enforcement of settlement agreement — Where insured sued insurer for coverage under policy, insured claims that insured and insurer reached a settlement agreement, but insurer claims that there was not a valid settlement agreement, prevailing insured is entitled to be awarded attorney’s fees under section 627.428, Florida Statutes, for litigating issue of whether there was a settlement agreement