Elio Mulas and Lucia Mulas v. Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida grants Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ anticipatory-breach claim. The court holds that the plaintiffs’ allegation that the insurer failed to pay actual cash value does not plausibly establish an absolute and unequivocal intent to refuse future replacement-cost-value payment.

Holdings

1. Plaintiffs failed to state a plausible anticipatory-breach claim because the alleged failure to pay actual cash value did not show Defendant's absolute and unqualified intention to refuse a future replacement-cost payment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiffs adequately pleaded an anticipatory-breach claim by alleging that Defendant's failure to pay the actual cash value of the covered loss indicated that Defendant would refuse to pay the replacement cost value in the future.

Disposition

dismissed