2020

45 Fla. L. Weekly D2003c

Torts — Automobile accident — Discovery — Non-parties — Financial relationships — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court did not depart from essential requirements of the law in denying defendant’s motion for a protective order arguing that plaintiff’s request for information concerning the financial relationship between defendant’s attorney, liability insurer, and medical experts was not permissible because insurer and attorneys were not parties to the lawsuit — Question certified: Whether the analysis and decision in Worley should also apply to preclude a defendant’s liability insurer or defendant’s retained counsel, neither of whom is a party to the litigation, from having to disclose their financial relationship with defendant’s physician experts?

45 Fla. L. Weekly D292a
290 So. 3d 153

Insurance — Property — Discovery — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law in finding that the claim file from a prior claim involving the same insured boat could not be protected from discovery as work product because the prior claim had been settled without litigation

45 Fla. L. Weekly D2271a

Insurance — Homeowners — Discovery — Appeals — Certiorari — Trial court departed from essential requirements of law by compelling insurer to disclose privileged claim file materials in insured’s breach of contract suit against insurer before making a coverage determination

45 Fla. L. Weekly D510a
299 So. 3d 501

Insurance — Discovery — Trial court improperly required insurer to produce all documents in field adjuster’s claim file created prior to date coverage was denied

45 Fla. L. Weekly D879b

Insurance — Homeowners — Declaratory judgment — Trial court erred in dismissing insurer’s complaint seeking declaration of rights and remedies under election to repair provision of policy and breach of contract claim that policy terms were anticipatorily repudiated by insureds, excusing further performance by insurer and allowing insurer to recover as damages its reasonable costs incurred in prosecuting lawsuit

45 Fla. L. Weekly D571a
292 So. 3d 840

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Hospitals — Medical services — Reasonableness of charges — Declaratory judgment — No error in dismissing with prejudice putative class action complaint for declaratory judgment and supplemental relief against hospital which sought declaration as to whether hospital charged plaintiff and other similarly situated patients unreasonable rates for medical services in violation of section 627.736(5)(a) — To state a cause of action for declaratory judgment, there must be some immunity, power, privilege, or right of the complaining party dependent upon the issue to be resolved by the declaration — Any declaration on whether hospital charged unreasonable amounts under PIP statute would constitute an improper advisory opinion where PIP statute does not contain a private right of action for an insured to challenge the reasonableness of a health care provider’s charges — Plaintiff is not entitled to declaration on the matter because of the existence of unspecified, potentially available civil remedies for hospital’s violation of the statute where plaintiff asserted no other cause of action below that would show that a justiciable controversy exists on which to predicate a declaratory judgment — Absent a showing of at least a colorable right which would be affected by the requested declaration, dismissal is required

45 Fla. L. Weekly D1426b

Insurance — Homeowners — Declaratory judgment — Insurer seeking declaratory relief against insured based on dispute over whether policy barred recovery because damage claimed occurred prior to policy’s inception — Error to dismiss complaint where a bona fide controversy existed — Because policy would permit insurer to deny coverage if damage happened before inception of the policy, there was a genuine dispute between the parties, and insurer presented a justiciable question as to the existence of its right to deny coverage under the policy — Trial court had the power to determine factual issues under declaratory judgment act

45 Fla. L. Weekly D754b

Insurance — Homeowners — Post-loss obligations — Action by insurer against insured after insured property suffered water damage from water leak and insured failed to comply with requests to complete sworn proof of loss or appoint an appraiser — Trial court properly dismissed breach of contract claim where complaint did not allege element of damages — Court erred in dismissing claim for specific performance of policy’s provisions — Court also erred in dismissing claim for declaratory relief seeking declaration of insurer’s coverage obligations and whether it is entitled to void policy

45 Fla. L. Weekly D2750b

Insurance — Declaratory judgment — Dismissal — Action by assignee who contracted to provide water mitigation services seeking declaration that its invoices for work performed were not subject to appraisal since they should not be interpreted as part of amount of loss, as provided by policy — Trial court erred in failing to render final declaratory judgment in lieu of dismissal — Motion to dismiss a complaint for declaratory judgment is only to determine whether plaintiff is entitled to a declaration of rights, not to determine whether it is entitled to a declaration in its favor — Assignee’s complaint stated a cause of action for declaratory relief as to whether charge for its services fell under category of “amount of loss” and was subject to appraisal

45 Fla. L. Weekly D1152a

Insurance — Contractors — Insurer had no duty to defend construction company in action alleging that company’s employee or agent caused damage to condominium building where the damage occurred above the third story of the condominium building, and the policy contained an exclusion for construction damage to a building more than three stories in height