Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Marie Suffrat

Summary

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed a final judgment entered after a jury verdict for Marie Suffrat in her insurance coverage dispute with Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company. The court held that the trial court should have dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to provide the presuit notice required by section 627.70152(3), Florida Statutes, and improperly struck Universal’s late-notice defense. The case was remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The presuit notice requirement in section 627.70152(3) is procedural and applies to all policies regardless of the policy's date of inception. Because Suffrat did not plead compliance with the requirement, the trial court erred in denying Universal's motion to dismiss.
2. Universal did not waive its late-notice defense by pleading it together with alternative policy-exclusion defenses. Florida law permits a party to plead multiple, alternative, and inconsistent defenses.
3. The trial court erred in directing a verdict against Universal on its late-notice defense because evidence supported a finding that the delayed notice prejudiced Universal's investigation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether section 627.70152(3), Florida Statutes (2021), requiring presuit notice of intent to litigate an insurance claim, applied to Suffrat's action even though the policy was issued before the statute's effective date.
2. Whether the trial court improperly granted a directed verdict striking Universal's late-notice defense because Universal also pleaded alternative policy exclusions.
3. Whether sufficient evidence supported submitting Universal's late-notice and prejudice defense to the jury.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded