The Adjuster

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation v. Garfinkel

Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Garfinkel, No. 5D09-1641, ___ So. 3d ___ (Fla. 5th DCA, December 18, 2009)

Citizens sought a writ of prohibition directed to prevent the trial court from taking any further action regarding a first-party bad faith claim brought by Alan Garfinkel.

State Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Seville Place Condominium Ass’n, Inc.

State Farm Florida Ins. Co. v. Seville Place Condominium Ass’n, Inc., No. 3D08-2538, ___ So. 3d ___, (Fla. 3rd DCA, October 14, 2009)

In State Farm Florida v. Seville Place, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal held that an insured could amend their complaint to add a bad faith claim after coverage was admitted by the insurer and an appraisal award had been entered, but before final judgment.

Warfel v. Universal Insurance Company of North America

Warfel v. Universal Ins. Co. of North America, No. 2D08-3134, ___ So. 3d ___ (Fla. 2nd DCA, December 9, 2009)

The issue in this case was whether the amended sections of Florida Statute sections 627.7065, 627 .7072, and 627.7073 (2005), which affected database information, testing standards, and reporting requirements for sinkhole claims, created a presumption that shifted the burden of proof to the homeowner to disprove an insurer’s expert’s opinion that damage was not caused by a sinkhole or whether it created a presumption that vanished once a homeowner produced evidence that a sinkhole damaged his or her property.

State Farm Ins. Co. v. Nichols

State Farm Ins. Co. v. Nichols, 21 So. 3d 904 (Fla. 5th DCA, November 6, 2009)

In this case, several policyholders brought suit after State Farm refused to pay damages awarded for subsurface sinkhole repairs. The policyholders each received appraisal awards that separately listed the amount of above ground and subsurface damages caused by sinkholes. State Farm promptly paid the amounts designated for above ground damage but withheld the amounts designated for subsurface damage, arguing that Florida Statute 627.707(5)(b) (2007) authorized it to withhold the funds until the homeowners had contracted for the repairs.

Business Interruption Insurance Coverage: A Conversation with Attorney Michelle Claverol

Q. Why does a company need Business Interruption coverage and what is the purpose?

To provide the capital needed to sustain a business while its operations are suspended as a result of damage caused by a covered peril. Business interruption insurance is intended to return the amount of profit the business would have earned, had there been no interruption or suspension of its operations as a result of a covered loss.

48-Hour Ban on Solicitation Lawsuits

Kortum v. Alex Sink -- Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment is pending before the Leon County Circuit Court. Alex Sink v. East Coast Public Adjusters, Inc. – The Department of Financial Services is appealing the trial court denial of their motion to dismiss for improper venue.

Upcoming Florida Public Adjuster Events

NAPIA First Party Claims Conference: October 18-20, 2010, Crown Plaza Hotel, Warwick (Providence), Rhode Island FAPIA 2010 Summer Conference: June 27-29, 2010, Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Florida NAPIA 2010 Annual Meeting: June 9-13, 2010, Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Ojai, California

Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog

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Adjusters Have Codes of Ethics: Florida's Are Significant and Need to Be Enforced

All adjusters, whether company, independent, or public, have significant ethical obligations in Florida. Indeed, these adjusters even have an obligation to turn each other into the Department of Financial Services. The failure to do so is, by itself, a breach of the adjuster’s ethical obligations:

(g) An adjuster shall promptly report to the Department any conduct by any licensed insurance representative of this state which violates any provision of the Insurance Code or Department rule or order.

Javier Delgado Returns to Florida

Javier Delgado is now using his legal expertise and creativity to work claims brought into Merlin Law Group’s Coral Gables office as well as in the Houston office. Originally from the area, Javier is committed to also helping policyholders in the southeastern region of Florida in their pursuit to resolve disputes with their insurers, while continuing his Texas connection. He’s begun renewing the relationships he has with many of Florida’s public adjusting firms (you may have seen him present Tales From the Dark Side with our another one of our attorneys in Coral Gables, Michelle Claverol, at FAPIA’s Winter Conference) and looks forward to meeting up with other old acquaintances and developing new. Javier will also continue to work towards resolving Hurricane Ike cases. You can reach Javier in the Coral Gables office—305 448 4800 -- or email him here.

Merlin Attorneys Win Sinkhole Trial

Recently, Merlin attorneys Craig and Kelly Kubiak successfully presented a case to a jury involving a denied sinkhole claim against USAA. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the property owner, finding a sinkhole and awarding the insured homeowner almost three times the policy limits.