2015

40 Fla. L. Weekly D2756a
180 So. 3d 1203

Insurance — Homeowners — Valued Policy Law — Claim by insured that Valued Policy Law applied to their claim, entitling them to recover full policy limits for total loss of their mobile home due to burglary and vandalism — Policy’s appraisal provision and appraisal panel’s award did not preclude applicability of Valued Policy Law — Trial court erred in entering summary judgment for insurer where there was issue of fact as to whether insured mobile home was an actual total loss

40 Fla. L. Weekly D857a
162 So. 3d 1049

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claims — Florida Insurance Guaranty Association — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law by granting partial summary judgment in favor of insureds as to liability and damages associated with subsurface repair costs and including in the order language that authorized execution, while also specifically noting in order that the cost of cosmetic repairs remained in dispute — Appeals — Certiorari is available to review order which permits execution prior to rendition of final appealable order

40 Fla. L. Weekly D310a
173 So. 3d 986

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claim — Neutral evaluation is not a presuit requirement — Statute does not preclude filing of lawsuit during pendency of neutral evaluation process — Trial court erred in finding that insured was required to participate in and complete neutral evaluation process before filing suit and in entering summary judgment for insurer on basis that insured breached “Suits Against Us” provision of policy by prematurely filing suit against insurer

40 Fla. L. Weekly D2205b
179 So. 3d 348

Insurance — Homeowners — Coverage — Sinkhole loss — Error to grant summary judgment in favor of insurer where material issue of fact remained as to method of subsurface repair

40 Fla. L. Weekly D1387a
166 So. 3d 212

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claims — Subsurface repairs — Error to grant summary judgment in favor of insurer where there was genuine issue of material fact as to proper method of subsurface repair — Neither Florida law nor insurance contract required insured to enter into contract for subsurface repairs in accordance with insurance company’s engineer’s recommendation before benefits were payable

40 Fla. L. Weekly D764b
164 So. 3d 690

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claims — Subsurface repairs — Error to grant summary judgment in favor of insurer where there was genuine issue of material fact as to proper method of subsurface repair — Three qualified engineers conducted testing in compliance with Florida sinkhole statutes and arrived at different opinions as to proper method of repair, and question of which recommended method of subsurface repair was sufficient to repair insured’s home was question for jury — Neither Florida law nor insurance contract required insured to enter into contract for subsurface repairs in accordance with insurance company’s engineer’s recommendation before benefits were payable

40 Fla. L. Weekly D64a
158 So. 3d 671

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole claim — Where insurer’s engineer’s report found that damage to insured home was not caused by a sinkhole, but insureds’ engineer’s report found that damage was caused by a sinkhole, insureds were under no obligation to provide their report to insurer before filing suit for breach of contract after insurer denied coverage — Sinkhole endorsement did not change nature of underlying all risks policy — Under all risks policy, insureds had burden to prove that a loss occurred to the insured property during the policy period, and then burden shifted to insurer to show that the loss resulted from an excluded cause

40 Fla. L. Weekly D2748a
181 So. 3d 1211

Insurance — Homeowners — Sinkhole loss — Action alleging that insurer breached contract of insurance by failing to pay actual cash value of above-ground damages resulting from sinkhole — Trial court erred in instructing jury that insurer could be held liable for breach of contract only if it failed to pay actual cash value of above-ground damages “at the time of the sinkhole loss” — Instruction wrongfully suggested to jury that insurer’s obligation was limited to paying for only those damages that had manifested themselves on or about the date insured made his claim — Additionally, trial court erred by excluding evidence of post-suit payments tendered by insurer where payments represented payment of additional amounts for actual cash value of above-ground damages, and not as an offer to compromise insured’s claim

40 Fla. L. Weekly D610a
159 So. 3d 327

Insurance — Homeowners — Windstorm damage mitigation — Class action declaratory judgment action alleging that insured plaintiffs had submitted uniform mitigation verification forms to insurer, that insurer accepted forms without conducting separate inspections of properties and routinely provided premium credits based on loss mitigation features, and that insurer began reinspecting properties within 5 years although mitigation forms set forth that the forms were valid for 5 years provided no material changes have been made to structure, and seeking declaration that mitigation forms and terms were incorporated into insurance policies, that insurer must honor mitigation form and inspection results on insured property for 5 years unless there has been a material change to property, and that trial court was proper forum for issuing declaratory relief — Trial court properly dismissed action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies provided for in section 627.371, Florida Statutes

40 Fla. L. Weekly D299a
156 So. 3d 1108

Insurance — Homeowners — Limitation of actions — Breach of contract action against insurer alleging failure to pay claim for roof replacement and interior damage caused by hurricane — Commencement of limitations period — Trial court erred in finding that limitations period commenced when insurer issued a check as net settlement for skylight replacement, where no correspondence indicated that there was a complete settlement of all hurricane claims — Alleged breach did not occur until insurer denied claim for roof replacement