Coach Homes V at Moody River Estates Condominium Association v. Steadfast Insurance Company

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied the plaintiff’s request for leave to file an untimely motion to compel appraisal in an insurance dispute arising from Hurricane Milton. The court held that the plaintiff failed to show good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) and had forfeited appraisal by missing the applicable deadline. The court further held that the insurance policy required mutual agreement to proceed with appraisal, and therefore denied the motion to compel as moot.

Holdings

1. A party seeking to modify a scheduling order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) must show good cause, which requires diligence; prejudice to the opposing party is irrelevant unless diligence is first shown. Because Coach Homes made no argument that it could not meet the deadline despite diligence, the court denied leave to file out of time.
2. The policy unambiguously required mutual written agreement before appraisal could proceed. Because Steadfast did not accept Coach Homes's appraisal request in writing, Coach Homes was not entitled to compel appraisal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Coach Homes established good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to modify the scheduling order and file its motion to compel appraisal out of time.
2. Whether the insurance policy entitled Coach Homes to compel appraisal notwithstanding the policy language requiring the other party to accept the appraisal request in writing.

Disposition

other