2019

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2588a

Insurance — Homeowners — Assignee’s claim against insurer — No abuse of discretion in transferring case from Miami-Dade County to Bay County where property was located in Bay County, assignee performed services for which payment was sought in Bay County, and there was no allegation in the record that insured/assignor had any connection to Miami-Dade County

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2858a
285 So. 3d 334

Insurance — Homeowners — Appraisal — Trial court applied incorrect standard in determining whether insurer waived its right to appraisal by mistakenly concluding that an insurer could not invoke appraisal until coverage was determined — While an insured cannot seek appraisal until coverage is determined, an insurer may invoke appraisal and still retain a coverage defense — Remand for reconsideration of whether insurer’s actions amount to a waiver of right to appraisal

44 Fla. L. Weekly D994a
275 So. 3d 684

Insurance — Homeowners — Hurricane damage — Trial court erred in granting insured’s motion to compel appraisal where insured failed to comply with post-loss conditions of policy — Insured’s generalized description of loss at her examination under oath did not constitute “sworn proof of loss” required by policy, and insured offered no reason for failure to submit public adjuster’s itemized claim report before, rather than after, EUO and lawsuit

44 Fla. L. Weekly D1639a
276 So. 3d 905

Insurance — Homeowners — Affirmative defenses — Post-loss obligations — In insured’s breach of contract action against insurer, trial court abused discretion by striking insurer’s affirmative defense of insurance fraud where insured’s ore tenus motion was not properly noticed for hearing — After striking affirmative defense, court should have allowed insurer leave to amend defense to allege insurance fraud with requisite specificity — For insurer to successfully establish a coverage defense based upon insured’s failure to comply with post-loss obligations, insurer must plead and prove that insured has materially breached a post-loss policy provision — If insurer establishes such a material breach by insured, burden then shifts to insured to prove that any breach did not prejudice insurer — Insurer must be prejudiced by insured’s non-compliance with post-loss obligation in order for insured to forfeit coverage — Conflict certified — When insurer has alleged and established, as an affirmative defense to coverage, that insured has failed to substantially comply with a post-loss obligation, prejudice to insurer is presumed, and burden shifts to insured to show absence of prejudice

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2243a
278 So. 3d 325

Insurance — Health — Claim that insurer breached home health care limited benefit policy by denying benefits for services provided by assisted living facility — No error in granting summary judgment in favor of insurer where policy unambiguously and expressly excluded assisted living facility services

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2061a
277 So. 3d 760

Insurance — Contracts — Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act — Res judicata — No error in dismissing claim alleging that insurer breached contract by failing to pay for plaintiff’s medical procedure where claim had already been adjudicated on the merits before an administrative law judge — Trial court erred in dismissing plaintiff’s FDUTPA claim under doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata where issues before trial court were different than the issues adjudicated by the ALJ — FDUTPA claim was properly dismissed based on conclusion that FDUTPA did not apply to insurer because all of insurer’s alleged activities were regulated by the Office of Insurance Regulation

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2618a

Insurance — Automobile — Uninsured motorist — Coverage — Resident relative — Trial court erred in granting summary judgment determining that automobile insurer was required to provide UM coverage to insured’s resident relative where insured’s policy only covered resident relatives who did not own an automobile, and relative at issue owned an automobile at time of accident — If a policy does not provide liability coverage to certain resident relatives, there is no mandate requiring UM coverage for those resident relatives

44 Fla. L. Weekly D686a
273 So. 3d 1031

Insurance — Homeowners — Water damage — Trial court did not err in entering final summary judgment in favor of insurer in action filed by insureds after coverage was denied on ground that damage from leak in roof was created by normal wear and tear, an uncovered risk, rather than by a windstorm event — Affidavits submitted by insurer in support of its motion for summary judgment were sufficient to meet its burden, and opposing affidavit by expert who conducted inspection a year after the damaged roof was repaired failed to identify admissible evidence that created genuine issue of material fact

44 Fla. L. Weekly D700a
271 So. 3d 115

Insurance — Homeowners — Water damage — Trial court erred in entering summary judgment in favor of insurer where there were genuine issues of material fact regarding whether interior rain damage exclusion in policy precluded coverage for water-damage repairs involved in case

44 Fla. L. Weekly D2756b
299 So. 3d 1087

Insurance — Homeowners — Dismissal of insured’s action against insurer for fraud on the court — Dismissal of action was too severe a sanction for insured’s statements in affidavit in opposition to insurer’s motion for summary judgment where insured had limited powers of recollection and fluency in English and affidavit was crafted by insured’s attorneys