46 Fla. L. Weekly D1817a NORTH BROWARD CHIROPRACTIC AND WELLNESS CENTER, INC. a/a/o CRISTINA CORRIDORI, Appellant, v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D21-328. August 11, 2021. Appeal from the County Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; John D. Fry, Judge; L.T. Case No. CONO18-7121, CACE19-5560. Counsel: Michelle J. Kane […]
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Insurance — Homeowners — Directed verdict — Error to enter directed verdict in insurer’s favor on claim that insurer breached contract by not fully paying for a covered loss within 20 days of receiving insured’s sworn proof of loss based on trial court’s conclusion that insurer had 90 days to investigate claim — Subsection in loss-payment provision of insurance policy which contained the 90-day limit commenced upon insurer’s receipt of notice of an initial claim, not upon filing of sworn proof of loss — Viewing facts in light most favorable to insured, insured’s lawsuit was not premature where a jury could have found that insurer received notice of initial claim more than 90 days prior to the filing of insured’s suit — Even assuming suit was premature, proper procedure would have been to abate the action or dismiss without prejudice — Trial court erred by granting insurer a directed verdict on count which alleged that insurer breached contract by not fully repairing home after it exercised its option to repair — Based on testimony at trial, a jury could reasonably have found that insurer exercised its option to repair notwithstanding insurer’s failure to give written notice as policy required
46 Fla. L. Weekly D1795a MARY IWANICKI, Appellant, v. SAFEPOINT INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D19-4583. August 11, 2021. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Cheryl K. Thomas, Judge. Counsel: Jeffrey S. Pekar of Pekar Law, P.A., Tampa, and Jason A. Herman of Herman & Wells, P.A., Pinellas Park, for Appellant. […]
Insurance — Bad faith — Third-party bad faith — Contracts — Cunningham agreements — Limitation of actions — Trial court erred in dismissing bad faith action based on conclusion that claim was barred by statute of limitations — Parties’ modified Cunningham agreement, which was intended to serve as the functional equivalent of the excess judgment needed to pursue third-party bad faith claim, did not constitute the functional equivalent of an excess judgment until the court approved it one year after both parties had signed it — Trial court’s conclusion that agreement did not require court approval was not supported by the plain language of the agreement, and was inconsistent with the parties’ stated purpose for entering the agreement — Because bad faith action was filed within four years from date trial court approved parties’ agreement, the action was not barred by statute of limitations
46 Fla. L. Weekly D1796a WRIGHT INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. and ANTHONY WRIGHT, Appellants, v. NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee. 2nd District. Case No. 2D19-1068. August 11, 2021. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Patricia A. Muscarella, Judge. Counsel: Jason Mulholland of Mulholland Law, P.A., Tampa, for Appellants. Lee W. Marcus of Marcus […]
Torts — Dismissal — Denial of motion — Appeals — Certiorari — Petition seeking review of order denying motion to dismiss complaint for pure bill of discovery and directing petitioner to file an answer is denied because petitioner failed to demonstrate irreparable harm
46 Fla. L. Weekly D1816a IMC MEDICAL CENTERS, LLC and JOSEPH YORK a/k/a JOSEPH ZUMWALT, Petitioners, v. JOHN DELUCA, Respondent. 4th District. Case No. 4D21-853. August 11, 2021. Petition for writ of certiorari to the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; Nicholas Richard Lopane, Judge; L.T. Case No. CACE20-16525 (03). Counsel: Richard […]
Civil rights — Racial discrimination in contracting — Section 1981 action against hotel brought by former guest, alleging one of hotel’s employees falsely accused guest of engaging in inappropriate behavior at pool, that employee/towel attendant did so because she harbored animus against Arabs, and that employee’s accusation led to guest’s eviction — District court erred in dismissing case with prejudice for failure to state claim under section 1981 — Plaintiff plausibly alleged circumstantial prima facie case for racial discrimination in contracting sufficient to survive motion to dismiss — Plaintiff adequately alleged that he and his fiancée were treated differently from non-Arab guests who were engaged in the same basic conduct at the pool; that employee intended to cause contractual injury; and that employee’s racial animus in fact caused his contractual injury — Hotel’s liability — “Cat’s paw” theory of liability, pursuant to which a defendant may be held liable for racial animus of non-decisionmaking employee, is not incompatible with section 1981, which requires a plaintiff to show that race was the but-for cause of injury rather than just a motivating factor
29 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C30a RAMI ZIYADAT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DIAMONDROCK HOSPITALITY COMPANY, d.b.a. The Westin Beach Resort Fort Lauderdale, Defendant-Appellee. 11th Circuit. Case No. 20-10485. July 13, 2021. Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (No. 0:19-cv-61374-WPD). (Before JILL PRYOR, NEWSOM and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.) (NEWSOM, Circuit Judge.) This […]