2018

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2430b
264 So. 3d 1008

Appeals — Certiorari — Due process — Insurance — Automobile — Windshield repair or replacement — Circuit court departed from essential requirements of law when it denied insurer’s petition for writ of certiorari without ruling on insurer’s motion to strike respondent’s unauthorized response brief or, in the alternative, for leave to file reply to the unauthorized response, and insurer’s motion to strike irrelevant supplement authority submitted by respondent

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2745b
261 So. 3d 580

Insurance — Annuities — Structured settlement agreements — Transfer of payment rights — Court approval — Trial court erred in entering judgment on the pleadings in an action seeking declaration as to who was entitled to future payment from a structured settlement agreement where there remained a question of fact as to the validity of the court order approving transfer of payment rights from original payee pursuant to the Structured Settlement Protection Act — Finding that original payee had not contested payment to transferee not basis for judgment on pleadings because statute prohibits payee from waiving provisions of SSPA — Argument that insurer was estopped from urging error because it accepted benefit of the transfer order is without merit, as there was no allegation that insurer benefitted from the order

43 Fla. L. Weekly D2434a
264 So. 3d 1013

Insurance — Automobile — Windshield repair or replacement — Deductible — Circuit court departed from essential requirements of law, resulting in manifest injustice, by failing to analyze and interpret section 627.7288, Florida Statutes (2016), which provides that deductible provisions of motor vehicle insurance policy providing comprehensive coverage or combined additional coverage shall not be applicable to da
mage to windshield of vehicle covered under policy — Circuit court’s apparent conclusion that without a citation to appellate case law that addresses the subject of county court’s ruling, insurer was unable to establish that the county court departed from essential requirements of law amounted to improper restriction of the scope of circuit court’s own certiorari review — Circuit court’s failure to adhere to clearly established principles of law by analyzing and interpreting statute resulted in manifest injustice because the county court erroneously construed appraisal cost requirement of policy as a deductible that violated the statute, although statute contains no express prohibition against requiring an insured to pay his or her own appraisal costs where there is a dispute over windshield repair/replacement costs — Where contracting parties have freely contracted for appraisal cost requirement, parties or their assignees may not rely on section 627.7288 to avoid their responsibility to pay such costs

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1503a
249 So. 3d 1312

Insurance — All-risk homeowners insurance — Water damage — Exclusions — Loss caused by constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over period of 14 or more days from within a plumbing system — Trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of insurer where evidence at summary judgment stage established that loss was caused by water leakage and it was undisputed that property was exposed to water for more than 14 days, but evidence failed to establish that loss did not occur within the first 14 days of exposure

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1860a
253 So. 3d 632

Torts — Insurance agents — Negligent procurement of insurance — Unjust enrichment — Condominium associations’ claims against insurance agent that failed to procure a contractually required “Payment and Performance Bond” on behalf of contractor who performed post-hurricane roof repairs — Damages — Jury instructions — Trial court did not err in instructing jury that proper measure of damages in negligent procurement of insurance claim is loss that would have been covered had the insurance been properly obtained — Because associations sustained no loss during construction, they were limited to criminal and/or administrative penalties against agent — Evidence — Trial court abused its discretion by refusing to admit a consent order relating to suspension of principal’s insurance license and the agent’s admissions — Consent order and admissions did not fall within purview of statute relating to inadmissibility of offers to compromise a claim — Error was harmless

43 Fla. L. Weekly D1996a
255 So. 3d 423

Jurisdiction — Non-residents — Action against foreign state insurance agent alleging that defendant negligently procured automobile insurance that did not provide sufficient underinsured motorist benefits — Defendant’s registration to do business in Florida and designation of a registered agent for service of process in Florida is insufficient, without more, to establish personal jurisdiction in Florida courts — Plaintiff did not establish basis for asserting general jurisdiction over defendant where complaint did not allege facts sufficient to establish that defendant engaged in substantial and not isolated activity in Florida — Due process standard for exercise of general jurisdiction over defendant was not satisfied where there was no showing that defendant is so heavily engaged in activity in Florida as to render it essentially at home in Florida — There was no showing that defendant committed a tortious act in Florida or breached an agreement in Florida so as to subject it to jurisdiction in Florida courts — Exercise of specific jurisdiction over defendant would be contrary to due process where there is no connection between Florida and the specific claims at issue