RESTORATION CONSTRUCTION, LLC v. SAFEPOINT INSURANCE COMPANY

Summary

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment entered for SafePoint Insurance Company in an insurance coverage dispute brought by an assignee of the insureds’ claim. The court held that whether the insureds provided prompt notice of their water loss and whether any delay prejudiced the insurer were factual questions for the jury, not issues properly resolved on summary judgment.

Holdings

1. Whether notice of an insurance loss was prompt under the policy is generally a question of fact, determined in light of all the facts and circumstances; the five-day delay here could not be held nonprompt as a matter of law.
2. Summary judgment was improper because material factual issues remained regarding whether the notice was untimely and whether the delay prejudiced SafePoint's evaluation of the claim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the insureds' five-day delay in notifying SafePoint of the water leak breached the policy's requirement to provide prompt notice as a matter of law.
2. Whether the timeliness of notice and resulting prejudice to the insurer presented factual issues requiring resolution by a jury rather than summary judgment.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded