2006

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1925a

Torts — Contracts — Insurance — Action by assignee of fire insurance policy against reinsurers who settled fire loss claim with insured, alleging negligence and breach of contract — Trial court properly entered summary judgment for defendant reinsurers where plaintiff failed to establish the existence of a common law or contractual duty on part of reinsurers to ascertain the existence of unknown assignees, failed to establish contractual privity with reinsurers, and failed to establish that reinsurers breached reinsurance agreement — There is no existing Florida case law which mandates that an insurer or reinsurer has a common law duty to ascertain whether assignees exist before settling an insurance claim — There is no evidence that reinsurers were aware of plaintiff’s existence — Because plaintiff failed to prove element of legal duty, it cannot establish prima facie case of negligence — Contractual privity did not exist between reinsurers and plaintiff, and reinsurers did not breach any terms of reinsurance agreement when they issued payment of settlement proceeds to insured

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1614a

Insurance — Uninsured motorist — Personal injury protection — Arbitration — Action against insurer which denied coverage on ground that policy was canceled at its inception because insured’s check was returned for insufficient funds — No error in entering judgment in favor of insured pursuant to arbitrator’s decision where insurer did not timely file motion for trial following the nonbinding arbitration decision — Issue of coverage may be determined by arbitrator when a trial court refers a case to nonbinding arbitration pursuant to section 44.103 — Insurer’s argument that it was not required to request a trial de novo because issue of coverage was never properly before the arbitrator is without merit

31 Fla. L. Weekly D2220a
937 So. 2d 199

Insurance — Appraisal — Attorney’s fees — Error to confirm appraisal award and enter judgment where insurer timely participated in appraisal and paid award without need for court intervention — Insurer is not subject to attorney’s fees where insured initiates litigation even though insurer has complied with terms of alternative dispute resolution provided for in insurance contract

31 Fla. L. Weekly D2474a

Appeals — Jurisdiction — Non-final orders — Insurance — Partial summary judgment in favor of injured plaintiff and against insurer on issue of existence of insurance coverage was not subject to immediate and expedited review under rule 9.110(m) where there was no unresolved underlying personal injury action between the injured plaintiff and the insured — Personal injury action claim in excess of policy limits had been settled, and insured had assigned his rights under insurance policy to the injured plaintiff, so there was no danger of delay of an underlying personal injury action against insured absent prompt appellate review — Appeal dismissed

31 Fla. L. Weekly D3163a

Appeals — Judgments that determine existence or nonexistence of insurance coverage in cases in which claim has been made against an insured and coverage is disputed by insurer — Absence of claim against insureds

31 Fla. L. Weekly D2734a

Insurance — Aircraft liability — Coverage — Parties who entered into contract with named insureds to use insured aircraft to fly passengers to Bahamas were covered under policy’s omnibus insured provision, which provided coverage for “any person while using or riding in the aircraft and any person or organization legally responsible for its use” — Insurer had duty to defend parties who were using aircraft in wrongful death actions against those parties by estates of passengers who were killed when the aircraft crashed because estates’ wrongful death lawsuits alleged facts which potentially brought suits within policy coverage — Insurer also had duty to defend parties because they were equitably subrogated to rights of passengers’ estates by virtue of defending their lawsuits and settling the claims — Trial court properly entered summary judgment adverse to insurer in its action seeking declaratory relief — Trial court did not err in staying counterclaim for damages pending appellate court’s resolution of coverage issue

31 Fla. L. Weekly D131e

Insurance — Health — Arbitration — Where insurer denied insured’s claim under health insurance policy on basis that condition which formed basis of claim was preexisting and that insured’s preexisting condition voided the policy, insured’s action against insurer for breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, negligent misrepresentation, and violations of Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act was not subject to arbitration under arbitration clause in policy — By returning insured’s premium and rescinding the contract, insurer voided the contract and rendered all contractual provisions, including the arbitration clause, unenforceable — Error to grant insurer’s motion to compel arbitration

31 Fla. L. Weekly D1956a

Insurance — Commercial general liability — Insured’s action against insurer alleging, among other claims, breach of contractual duty to pay following insured’s settlement of lawsuit against it — Order merely granting insured’s motion for partial summary judgment on this claim is not final and not appealable — Rule 9.110(m), which states that judgments determining “ the existence or nonexistence of insurance coverage in cases in which a claim has been made against an insured and coverage thereof is disputed by the insurer may be reviewed either by the method prescribed in this rule or that in rule 9.130,” does not grant appellate court jurisdiction to entertain appeals from nonfinal orders

31 Fla. L. Weekly D459a

Insurance — Homeowners — Appeals — Order compelling appraisal does not meet requirements for certiorari relief — Order is not appealable as an order that determines the entitlement of a party to arbitration — Appeal dismissed

31 Fla. L. Weekly D256c

Appeals — Certiorari — Insurance — Order denying motion to dismiss claim against insurer for violation of statute setting forth specific minimum standards for investigating sinkhole claims — Failure of petitioner to show that it will suffer material injury that cannot be adequately remedied on appeal