News & Events

Elliott Tubbs and Jesse Dyer recently obtained summary judgment in a first-party property insurance case in Lee County, Florida. The insurer invoked appraisal to resolve a dispute regarding the amount of a covered loss caused by Hurricane Ian and the insured filed suit before the appraisal process was completed. The Court stayed proceedings, compelled completion of appraisal, and the appraisal panel awarded an amount greater than what the insurer was initially willing to pay and the insurer promptly paid the excess amount. The Court granted the insurer’s motion for summary judgment because it agreed that the lawsuit was not necessary and that the dispute regarding the amount of the covered loss was properly resolved within the policy by means of the appraisal process. The Court rejected the insured’s alternative argument that certain other coverage issues remained because they were not included in the notice of intent to initiate litigation and were not alleged in the complaint.