2006

31 Fla. L. Weekly D2984c

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith — Declaratory judgment — Accident involving injuries to multiple parties in which insurer exhausted policy limits by paying two claimants, initially denied a third claim because of the exhausted policy limits, and later tendered per person policy limit to third claimant, which third claimant rejected — Error to enter summary judgment for insurer in its declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that its tender extinguished any bad faith claim insureds might assert — To extent that judgment was meant to bar first party claim of bad faith in settling claims of two claimants without investigating all claims to determine how to best limit insured’s liability, judgment seems to be in error — Judgment also seems to be in error to extent it purports to bar common law third party bad faith claim

31 Fla. L. Weekly D836a

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith refusal to settle — Insurer can be held liable for bad faith refusal to settle where demand for settlement made by assignee of insured owner of vehicle agreed to release insured owner but refused to release permissive driver of vehicle, who was an additional insured — Trial court erred in entering directed verdict for insurer in bad faith action on ground that insurer could not enter into settlement and release which operated to totally exonerate insured owner without also releasing vehicle driver

31 Fla. L. Weekly S690b

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith failure to settle — An insurer’s tender of the policy limits to an insured in response to the filing of a civil remedy notice under section 624.155 by the insured, after the initiation of a lawsuit against the insured but before entry of an excess judgment, does not preclude a common law cause of action against the insurer for third-party bad faith

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1645c

Insurance — Automobile liability — Bad faith — Where insurer accepted that its insured was responsible for automobile accident as early as the next day and recognized the potential for an excess judgment about four months later, misplaced injured party’s offer to settle which came approximately eight months after the accident, and then purportedly accepted settlement offer, but simply ignored some of the conditions of the offer without explanation and, in fact, did not inquire of insured regarding certain of these conditions, or even inform insured of settlement offer, until after suit was filed against insured, it cannot be said as matter of law that insurer fulfilled its duty to use same degree of care and diligence as a person of ordinary care and prudence should exercise in the management of his own business — Error to enter summary judgment absolving insurer of bad faith claim brought by insured’s bankruptcy estate

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1700b

Insurance — Automobile — Cancellation of policy — Where insured purchased policy directly from a direct issuer of automobile insurance, and insured had no independent agent, insurer was not required to provide notice of cancellation to an agent in order for its cancellation of policy to be effective — Insurer effectively cancelled policy after it noticed insured and a lienholder within the statutory time frames and delivered notice of the cancellation by electronically forwarding bundled reports that included the cancellation to its internal agent

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 31 Fla. L. Weekly D1700b

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1097a

Insurance — Automobile — Cancellation of policy — Where insured purchased policy directly from a direct issuer of automobile insurance, and insured had no independent agent, insurer was not required to provide notice of cancellation to an agent in order for its cancellation of policy to be effective — Insurer effectively cancelled policy after it noticed insured and a lienholder within the statutory time frames and delivered notice of the cancellation by electronically forwarding bundled reports that included the cancellation to its internal agent

31 Fla. L. Weekly D2287a
948 So. 2d 1

Insurance — Automobile — Cancellation of policy — Misrepresentation or omission — Where insurer cancelled policy because of insured’s failure to disclose her son as an additional driver in application for insurance, insurer was required to return premiums paid by insured — Insurer’s cancellation of policy in effect rendered the insurance contract void, and insurer’s retention of premiums entitled insured to receive restitution of premiums paid — Failure to return premiums did not waive insurer’s right to deny coverage of claim for theft of automobile

31 Fla. L. Weekly D935a

Insurance — Automobile — Cancellation of policy — No error in finding that insurer did not effectively cancel insurance policy because it failed to give notice to state as required by statute applicable to commercial vehicles — Specific provision of section 320.02(5)(e) controls over general cancellation notice provisions of section 627.7281

31 Fla. L. Weekly D802a

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Workers’ compensation — Section 627.428, Florida Statutes, which authorizes award of attorney’s fees for insureds who successfully sue their insurers, does not authorize attorney’s fees in workers’ compensation cases — Award of attorney’s fees incurred in rule nisi proceeding was proper

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1951a

Insurance — Business automobile policy — Uninsured motorist — No error in holding that underinsured motorist coverage provided by insurer on a business automobile insurance policy issued to unincorporated business did not provide coverage for the business owner’s minor son when, as a pedestrian, he was struck by an underinsured motorist — A business automobile insurance policy issued in Florida insuring exclusively business or commercial vehicles is not statutorily compelled to utilize a definition of “insured” that would provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage to a family member of the owner of the insured commercial vehicle when the family member is struck as a pedestrian, and policy at issue did not voluntarily provide coverage for this claim — If insureds desired to have higher limits of uninsured motorist coverage, they were free to purchase that coverage on their family automobiles