2009

34 Fla. L. Weekly D232e
1 So. 3d 365

Insurance — Attorney’s fees — Circuit court acting in appellate capacity departed from essential requirements of law in awarding appellate attorney’s fees and costs to insured where insured was not prevailing party

34 Fla. L. Weekly D1437a
17 So. 3d 732
Insurance — Arbitration — Coverage disputes — Liability coverage under maritime policy — Case law prohibiting arbitration of insurance coverage disputes must give way to requirements of Federal Arbitration Act and Convention on the Recognition of and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards — There was no conflict between the arbitration clause of the policy and the service of suit clause, and even if there were a conflict, the arbitration clause would prevail — McCarran-Ferguson Act applies only to arbitration agreements within the United States and has no effect on an international arbitration agreement that is governed by the Convention — Arbitration agreement is protected by the Convention where the parties made an agreement in writing to engage in a commercial relationship, that of insurer and insured, and they agreed to arbitrate any disputes under the agreement in England, a country that is a signatory to the Convention — Federal Arbitration Act and Convention apply, and the provisions of the Act and Convention are not preempted by state laws regulating the business of insurance

34 Fla. L. Weekly D1422a
15 So. 3d 749

Insurance — Homeowners — Prejudgment interest — Where insurer was obligated to pay claim sixty days after filing of appraisal award, insured was entitled to prejudgment interest on portion of appraisal award not timely paid from date payment became due under policy — Error to award prejudgment interest from date insured’s property was damaged

34 Fla. L. Weekly D333a
5 So. 3d 709

Insurance — Commercial wind only policy — Appraisal — Court erred in entering judgment requiring insurer to pay full amount of appraisal award without a reduction for sums previously paid to insured and reduction for policy deductible, where appraisers made estimate of total loss without regard to any deductible or prior payments — Attorney’s fees — Where insurer had underpaid insured, insured filed suit, and appraisal culminated in judgment for insured for additional sum, insured was entitled to award of attorney’s fees

34 Fla. L. Weekly D1752a
16 So. 3d 977

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 34 Fla. L. Weekly D1872a

Insurance — Homeowners — Appraisal — Prejudgment interest — Where insurer initially denied coverage for claim, and later agreed to appraisal and paid appraisal award, trial court properly awarded prejudgment interest from date of loss — By initially denying coverage for claim, insurer waived policy provision allowing deferred payment following appraisal award

34 Fla. L. Weekly D1872a
16 So. 3d 977

Insurance — Homeowners — Appraisal — Prejudgment interest — Where insurer initially denied coverage for claim, and later agreed to appraisal and paid appraisal award, trial court properly awarded prejudgment interest from date of loss — By initially denying coverage for claim, insurer waived policy provision allowing deferred payment following appraisal award

34 Fla. L. Weekly D2481a
26 So. 3d 610

Insurance — Commercial property damage — Appraisal — Insolvent insurers — Where insolvent insurance company which was Florida Insurance Guaranty Association’s predecessor failed to comply with notice requirements of statute, insured was not required to submit to loss appraisal process — FIGA is not exempt from notice requirement — Line of cases refusing to hold FIGA liable for misdeeds of defunct insurer, beyond those arising out of an insurance policy, does not provide basis for avoiding application of statute — FIGA’s contention that appraisal process here is not a “precondition to legal action” within meaning of statute rejected in view of fact that FIGA requested stay in circuit court until contractual loss appraisal process was completed

34 Fla. L. Weekly D2000a
18 So. 3d 703

Insurance — Appraisal — Trial court erred in denying Florida Insurance Guaranty Association’s motion to compel appraisal of property damage pursuant to policy terms — Association did not waive right to appraisal by denying claim or by participating in litigation — Appraisal clause may be invoked for first time after litigation has commenced — Right to appraisal was not waived where FIGA asserted right in its original motion to dismiss and in all subsequent pleadings and at hearings

34 Fla. L. Weekly D2482a
33 So. 3d 48

Insurance — Commercial property damage — Appraisal — Insolvent insurers — Florida Insurance Guaranty Association is precluded from asserting its right to compel appraisal process by failing to provide the notice required by the statute — Impairment of contracts — Statutory amendment subjecting commercial residential insurance policies to mediation provisions of amended statute was not an unconstitutional impairment of insurance policy which was in existence prior to effective date of amendment — Discussion of balancing approach adopted by supreme court in Pomponio v. Claridge of Pompano Condo., Inc. for use in determining whether statute amounted to constitutionally impermissible impairment of contract — FIGA’s contention that appraisal process here is not a “precondition to legal action” within meaning of statute rejected in view of fact that FIGA requested stay in circuit court until contractual loss appraisal process was completed

34 Fla. L. Weekly D1578a
22 So. 3d 594

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Rescission of policy — Material misrepresentation in application — Right of rescission for misrepresentation in application contained in section 627.409, Florida Statutes, applies to PIP insurance contracts issued pursuant to Florida Motor Vehicle No-Fault Law — Insurer’s failure to comply with requirement of section 627.728, Florida Statutes, that notice of cancellation be given to insured forty-five days prior to effective date of cancellation, does not abrogate insurer’s ability to void policy ab initio pursuant to section 627.409 — Insurer’s right of rescission is not abrogated by section 627.736(9)(a), which requires that the renewal, cancellation, or nonrenewal of a PIP policy be reported to Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within 45 days from the effective date of the renewal, cancellation, or nonrenewal — Circuit court appellate division departed from essential requirements of law in affirming county court declaratory decree that insurer’s only remedy was to cancel policy prospectively under section 627.728 where insured had failed to list a member of his household on his insurance application