2012

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1701b

NOT FINAL VERSION OF OPINION
Subsequent Changes at 37 Fla. L. Weekly D2737a

Insurance — Property — Roof damage caused by hurricane — Discovery — Work product — Attorney-client privilege — Where coverage issue was in dispute and had not been resolved, trial court departed from essential requirements of law, causing irreparable injury, by allowing discovery of activity log notes, emails, and photographs contained in insurer’s claim file

37 Fla. L. Weekly D2205a
114 So. 3d 190

Insurance — Windstorm policy on residential property — Policy covering residential property owned by husband and wife in which wife was the only named insured but which provided that the terms “you” and “your” referred to both the “named insured” and “the spouse if a resident of the same household” — Where insurer filed declaratory judgment action against husband and wife regarding its coverage obligations, but wife had assigned all her rights and interests in property, including any insurance claims, to husband, trial court did not abuse discretion in dismissing wife as a party — Wife’s assignment of insurance claim to husband was valid, and insurer was not entitled to declaratory relief against her because she had no actual, present, adverse, and antagonistic interest in the subject matter of the complaint, which sought to define insurer’s obligations with respect to the policy and claim for benefits — Trial court erred in entering summary judgment for husband on issue of coverage where there was genuine issue of material fact as to whether husband was a resident spouse on date of loss, and because assignment did not relieve wife of her post-loss obligations as a named insured under policy — Although wife assigned her right to benefits under policy, she did not assign to husband her obligations under policy — Wife’s refusal to submit to a requested examination under oath precludes recovery under policy, because the EUO stands as a condition precedent to coverage

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1051a
86 So. 3d 1198

Insurance — Property — Declaration of benefits — Breach of contract — Appeals — Certiorari — Petition as to order directing petitioner to create privilege log and provide documents under seal for in camera inspection is denied because it is premature — Order compelling petitioner to produce its entire claim file is quashed where order departs from the essential requirements of law and will cause irreparable harm

37 Fla. L. Weekly D36a
76 So. 3d 1089

Venue — Insurance — Commercial vehicle liability — Forum selection clause — Trial court improperly denied insurer’s motion to dismiss on the basis of improper venue where clear and unambiguous forum selection clause found in policy stated that Georgia shall have jurisdiction and venue over any claims relating to the rights and obligations of the policy, insured freely bargained for and contracted with insurer with full knowledge of the forum selection clause, and insured failed to show that the clause was unreasonable or unjust — The hypothetical risk of inconsistent outcomes, based upon a case involving other defendants, does not support depriving insurer of the benefits of a valid forum selection clause — Insured’s argument that by litigating in both Florida and Georgia it would be forced to split its causes of action is rejected — Validity of entire contract must be submitted to the forum chosen by the parties in the contract

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1763b
93 So. 3d 501

Insurance — Commercial property — Discovery — Action against insurer alleging claims for breach of contract, declaratory judgment, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in overruling insurer’s objections to discovery of its business practices and policies where there has been no determination of coverage and the extent of loss — First-party claims for breach of implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing are actually statutory bad faith claims

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1884a
98 So. 3d 1180

Insurance — Condominiums — Assignment of claims — Neither Declaration of Condominium nor Articles of Incorporation prohibited Association from assigning potential insurance claims for hurricane damage to former unit owners — Trial court erred in dismissing former unit owners’ claims against insurer — Trial court did not abuse discretion in certifying unit owners as a class

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1817a
96 So. 3d 964

Insurance — Citizens Property Insurance Corporation — Venue — Trial court properly transferred venue of action against Citizens Property Insurance Corporation from Miami-Dade County to Leon County based upon home venue privilege — Citizens is a state entity protected by home venue privilege — Citizens did not waive home venue privilege by litigating other cases outside its home venue

37 Fla. L. Weekly D1965a
94 So. 3d 698

Insurance — Property — Hurricane damage — Bad faith — Trial court properly dismissed bad faith complaint where insured’s breach of contract suit against insurer was still pending and there had not yet been a final determination of liability on part of insurer

37 Fla. L. Weekly D757a
85 So. 3d 1156

Insurance — Uninsured motorist — First-party bad faith action — Conflict of laws — Action by Minnesota residents who were involved in automobile accident in Florida against Wisconsin insurer which issued policy in Minnesota, alleging that insurer failed to settle uninsured motorist claim in good faith — Proper choice-of-law rule applicable to claim is lex loci contractus, or place where the contract was executed — Trial court properly found that action was governed by Minnesota law — Even if the law of the place of performance applies because the refusal to settle concerns a performance question, insurer’s performance was due in Minnesota, not Florida — Further, Minnesota’s interest is more significant than that of Florida

37 Fla. L. Weekly D2139b
100 So. 3d 1155

Insurance — Property — Hurricane damage — Bad faith — Appraisal award pursuant to an insurance contract constitutes a “favorable resolution” of an underlying breach of contract dispute for purposes of filing a bad faith action — Summary judgment in favor of insurer in underlying breach of contract action, based on insurer’s compliance with terms of policy after resolution of appraisal process, did not preclude insured’s ability to pursue bad faith claim