MONY Life Ins. Co. v. Bernard R. Perez, Case No. 23-10770 (U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit, July 23, 2025 – Judge Marcus)

Vacating the jury’s verdict in favor of MONY Life on its unjust enrichment claim, holding that under Florida law, such a claim cannot proceed when an express contract governs the same subject matter (see Diamond “S” Dev. Corp. v. Mercantile Bank, 989 So. 2d 696, 697 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008); Global Network Mgmt., LTD v. CenturyLink Latin Am. Sols., LLC, 67 F.4th 1312, 1317 (11th Cir. 2023)). However, the Court affirmed the jury’s verdict against Perez on his breach of contract counterclaim, finding that despite the district court’s failure to interpret the ambiguous term “acceptable proof of loss,” the overwhelming evidence of Perez’s dishonesty rendered the error harmless (see Jones v. Utica Mut. Ins. Co., 463 So. 2d 1153, 1157 (Fla. 1985); JF & LN, LLC v. Royal Oldsmobile-GMC Trucks Co., 292 So. 3d 500, 508–09 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)). https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202310770.pdf