Bad Faith

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In Taylor v. Admiral Insurance Company, ____ S.3d ____ (Fla. 3rd DCA February 10, 2016), Ms. Taylor sued Hello Florida, Villa Vizcaya and Miami-Dade County as a result of a slip and fall injury. Hello Florida was the named insured under the Admiral Comprehensive General Liability Insurance policy.  Hello Florida was Ms. Taylor’s employer. Villa Vizcaya and the County qualified as additional insureds under the policy.

Admiral Insurance refused to defend or indemnify Hello Florida, Villa Vizcaya and the County. 
Continue Reading Coverage Granted Under Separation of Insureds Clause

In a long awaited opinion, in Citizen Property Insurance Corporation v. Perdido Sun Condominium Association, Inc., 40 FLW S265 (Fla., May 14, 2015), the Florida Supreme Court held that Citizens was immune from first party statutory bad faith claims.

[A] statutory first party bad faith cause of action under 624.155(1)(b) is not an exception to the immunity granted to Citizens by the Legislature.

However, the Court left open two areas where Citizens remains vulnerable to a suit for extra-contractual damages.
Continue Reading Citizens Immune From Bad Faith, but there’s more…

My client caused a serious accident in which one of the occupants of the other vehicle died.  GEICO insured my client with bodily injury liability limits of $10,000 per person / $20,000 per accident.  The estate for the deceased party agreed that it would accept GEICO’s $10,000 limits as full and final settlement of all claims if GEICO agreed to pay…

In State Farm Florida Insurance Company v. Seville Place Condominium Association, Inc., ____ So.3d ____ (Fla. 3rd DCA October 14, 2009) a group of condos was damaged by Hurricane Wilma.  Seville submitted the claim to State Farm.  Seville presented an estimate of damage in excess of $4.6 million.  State Farm initially paid a total of $90,564.62 on the…

In Allstate Indemnity Insurance Company v. Nelson, ____ So.3d ____  (Fla. 2nd DCA May 22 2009), Nelson was seriously injured in a car accident.  She and Allstate, her UM carrier, agreed to settle the case for her UM policy limits of $250,000.  Allstate tendered the $250,000, but under separate cover, Allstate requested that Nelson execute a release which…

In West Bend Mutual Insurance Company v. Higgins, _____ So.2d _____ (Fla. 5th DCA March 27, 2009), the insured brought a first-party bad faith case against West Bend pursuant to Florida Statute Section 624.155.  The insured sought discovery of the claims file from the underlying case, including attorney-client material generated in the underlying case. 

The 5th…

Recently, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a First Party Bad Faith verdict and judgment. In United Automobile Insurance Company v. Colon, Ms. Colon sued her PIP insurer for bad faith claims handling in failing to pay her doctors under her PIP policy. Although she disclaimed any non-economic damages for emotional distress, the…

In Michael Johnson v. GEICO, _____ F. 3rd _____ (11th Cir. March 11, 2009), the 11th Circuit affirmed a summary judgment in favor of GEICO, after its insureds sued for GEICO’s bad faith failure to settle.

On May 24, 2003, Michael Johnson was involved in a fatal accident. The driver of the other car, Woody…

Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company paid our client, Ronnie H., his long term disability benefits from October 2001 until February 2004. Then, as of March 1, 2004, Provident terminated Ronnie’s LTD benefits, claiming he was no longer disabled. Provident terminated Ronnie’s benefits even though the medical records showed that Ronnie’s condition had not improved…