By: Marissa Levy No. 4D22-865 (4th DCA 08/30/2023) The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently addressed the issue of insurance claim denials for long term water seepage. The Court held that the insured has the burden of proving a loss took place while the policy was in effect, the insurer has the burden of proving the loss is excluded from…

By: Nicole Martingano Case No. 5D22-72 The Fifth District Court of Appeals reversed the trial court’s ruling on the basis that the entry of judgment on merits based on an appraisal award, without considering coverage defenses, violated the insurer’s due process rights. Following a hailstorm, a scope-and-price dispute regarding damages to the Hochreiters’ (“Insureds”) roof arose. State Farm responded to…

By: Andrew Leslie No. 22-11776 (11th Cir. Apr. 13, 2023). On April 13, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed an “important and (as it turns out) interesting” issue concerning the interpretation of coverage from losses resulting from “named windstorms” within two consecutive written insurance policies.  On appeal from the U.S. District Court for the…

By: Allison J. Van Fleet No. 5D21-1354, 2022 WL 1814253 (5th DCA 06/03/2022) (District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District) The Fifth District Court of Appeals addressed whether a trial court may compel appraisal on the insured’s initial and supplemental claims before the insurer’s determination of coverage of the entire claim. The Fifth District held that a trial court…

By: Allison J. Van Fleet District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District 2018-CA-000942-O, 5D21-1456, September 9, 2022 The trial court originally granted summary judgment in favor of Security First finding that the insured had made affirmative misrepresentations of the pre-loss condition of the property which warranted the forfeiture of coverage under the concealment or fraud provision of the policy.…

By: Allison J. Van Fleet Third District Court of Appeal of Florida August 17, 2022 No. 3D21-0712 The issue considered by the Third District Court of Appeal was whether, under the policy at issue, Lloyd’s maintained the right to compel the insured to appraisal after the parties reached an impasse at mediation. Pursuant to Almeria Park Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v.…

2020 WL 4782369 (11th Cir. Aug. 18, 2020)   In this case the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals addresses what constitutes “direct physical loss” that triggers coverage.  Specifically, the Court considered whether dust and debris generated by road construction is direct physical loss, and held that it is not. The Southern District of Florida had excluded the opinions of Plaintiff’s…

District Court of Appeal for the State of Florida, Fourth District No. 4D18-3154 (April 22, 2020) In this appeal from the Circuit Court for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (“DCA”) of the State of Florida determined Avatar’s insurance policy did not require the insureds to produce the handyman or the employees…