Steadfast Storm Systems Inc. v. Evanston Ins. Co., No. 2:24-cv-01044-JLB-KCD (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 16, 2025 – Judge Badalamenti)
Granting Evanston's motion to dismiss, ruling that Steadfast Storm Systems, Inc. failed to state a claim for breach of contract or wrongful refusal to defend because the insurance policy explicitly excluded coverage for claims “in any way involving” sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, which was alleged in the employee’s demand letter (see...
Steadfast Storm Systems Inc. v. Evanston Ins. Co., No. 2:24-cv-01044-JLB-KCD (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 16, 2025 – Judge Badalamenti) Continue reading…
Pauly et al v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 2:24-cv-00874-SPC-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Judge Polster Chappell)
Denying Plaintiffs’ Rule 60 Motion for Reconsideration, reaffirming that replacement cost value (RCV) damages cannot be recovered unless the insured has actually incurred replacement costs, aligning with Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. v. Qureshi, 396 So. 3d 564 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2024) and Ceballo v. Citizens Prop. Ins., 967 So. 2d...
Pauly et al v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 2:24-cv-00874-SPC-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Judge Polster Chappell) Continue reading…
Lekse et al v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2:24-cv-00824-JES-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Senior Judge Steele)
Granting Allstate's motion for summary judgment, ruling that the plaintiffs' lawsuit was barred by the one-year statute of limitations under 42 U.S.C. § 4072 and 44 C.F.R. Pt. 61, App. A(1), Art. VII(O), because they filed suit five days after the deadline following Allstate’s partial denial of their flood insurance claim on...
Lekse et al v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2:24-cv-00824-JES-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Senior Judge Steele) Continue reading…
Lemon et al v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 2:23-cv-01140-JLB-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Judge Badalamenti)
Granting in part and denied in part Hartford Insurance’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that the plaintiffs, Michael and Daryl Lemon, are limited to recovering actual cash value (ACV) under their policy and not entitled to replacement cost value (RCV), matching costs, pre-existing damage, or Ordinance or Law-related expenses, because they had...
Lemon et al v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, 2:23-cv-01140-JLB-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, July 2, 2025 – Judge Badalamenti) Continue reading…
Gene Chambers v. Progressive Select Ins. Co., Case No. 24-CV-141-JSS-DCI (US District Court Middle District of Florida Orlando Division, June 12, 2025 – Judge Sneed)
(granting Progressive's motion for judgment on the pleadings, ruling that the plaintiff's bad faith claim was barred by Florida Statute § 624.155(4)(a) because the defendant tendered the policy limits within ninety days of receiving notice of the claim. The Court cited Oxonian v. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. and Dial v. GEICO Gen....
Gene Chambers v. Progressive Select Ins. Co., Case No. 24-CV-141-JSS-DCI (US District Court Middle District of Florida Orlando Division, June 12, 2025 – Judge Sneed) Continue reading…
Robert E. Pauly et al. v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, Case No. 24-CV-874-SPC-NPM (US District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, June 13, 2025 – Judge Polster Chappell)
(ruling that Plaintiffs' damages are limited to actual cash value (ACV) unless repairs are completed, citing Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. v. Qureshi and Ceballo v. Citizens Prop. Ins.. The Court found Qureshi more persuasive than Tio, which held that an insurer's liability for replacement cost does not arise until repairs are...
Robert E. Pauly et al. v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, Case No. 24-CV-874-SPC-NPM (US District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, June 13, 2025 – Judge Polster Chappell) Continue reading…
Herc Rentals, Inc. v. ACE American Ins. Co., Case No. 24-CV-885-JES-NPM (US District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, June 13, 2025 – Senior Judge Steele)
(denying ACE American Insurance Co.'s motion for reconsideration, ruling that Herc Rentals, Inc.'s bad faith claim was ripe because ACE's settlement of the Robb lawsuit established liability and the extent of damages under Herc's policy, citing Blanchard v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 575 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 1991) and Vest...
Herc Rentals, Inc. v. ACE American Ins. Co., Case No. 24-CV-885-JES-NPM (US District Court Middle District of Florida Fort Myers Division, June 13, 2025 – Senior Judge Steele) Continue reading…
Gary Domoracki and Christie Domoracki v. QBE Specialty Insurance Company, 2:25-cv-170-SPC-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, May 21, 2025 – Judge Sheri Polster Chappell)
(The Court denied QBE Specialty Insurance Company's motion to dismiss, finding that Domoracki's breach of contract claim was valid and did not prematurely raise bad-faith issues; therefore, the Court held that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that QBE constructively denied coverage for their supplemental claim, making the breach-of-contract claim ripe.)
Gary Domoracki and Christie Domoracki v. QBE Specialty Insurance Company, 2:25-cv-170-SPC-NPM (U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, May 21, 2025 – Judge Sheri Polster Chappell) Continue reading…
The Kidwell Group, LLC, d/b/a Air Quality Assessors of Florida, etc. v. Southern Oak Insurance Company, No. 3D24-0217 (Third District Court of Appeal, May 7, 2025 – Judge Emas)
(reversing the trial court's dismissal of The Kidwell Group's complaint, ruling that the assignment of benefits agreement was valid under section 627.7152(2)(a)5., Florida Statutes, as it included a sufficiently detailed itemized per-unit cost estimate. The Court's reasoning relied on the precedent set in Kidwell Group, LLC v. SafePoint Ins. Co., 376 So....
The Kidwell Group, LLC, d/b/a Air Quality Assessors of Florida, etc. v. Southern Oak Insurance Company, No. 3D24-0217 (Third District Court of Appeal, May 7, 2025 – Judge Emas) Continue reading…
Universal Property & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Dr. Elias Chousleb, No. 3D24-0200 (Third District Court of Appeal, May 7, 2025 – Judge Gordo)
(affirming the trial court's decision, ruling that it did not abuse its discretion in denying Universal's request to recall a witness for cumulative testimony, citing Gonzalez v. Martinez, 897 So. 2d 525 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) and Dade Cnty. v. Midic Realty, Inc., 549 So. 2d 1207 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989). The...
Universal Property & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Dr. Elias Chousleb, No. 3D24-0200 (Third District Court of Appeal, May 7, 2025 – Judge Gordo) Continue reading…