Petty v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court held that an attorney’s fee award under section 627.428(1), Florida Statutes, was not within the coverage of the insured’s policy and therefore was not a covered claim payable by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association under section 631.54(3). The court approved the Second District’s decision in Petty and disapproved the Third District’s conflicting decision in Soto.

Holdings

1. An attorney's-fee award under section 627.428(1) is not a covered claim that FIGA must pay when the underlying insurance policy does not expressly provide coverage for that fee award.
2. The statutory incorporation of section 627.428(1) into every Florida insurance policy does not make a resulting attorney's-fee claim part of the policy's coverage.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an attorney's-fee award under section 627.428(1), Florida Statutes, is a covered claim under section 631.54(3) that the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association must pay when the underlying insurance policy does not expressly provide coverage for the fee award.
2. Whether the fact that section 627.428(1) is an implicit part of every Florida insurance policy makes an attorney's-fee claim part of the policy's coverage.

Disposition

approved