JOHN BURNETT, APPELLANT,
v.
FIREMAN'S FUND INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the four-year statute of limitations for torts does not apply to an action for uninsured motorist benefits, which arises from an insurance contract.
Appellant sued for uninsured motorist benefits after an accident with an uninsured motorist. The trial court granted summary judgment for the insurer,…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Tort Law cases and more on FLexlaw
RYDER, Judge.
John Burnett appeals the summary judgment entered adverse to his claim for uninsured motorist benefits, alleging the lower court erred in applying a four-year limitation statute on the action. We reverse.
Appellant’s complaint, filed September 17, 1980, alleged he was involved in an automobile accident with an uninsured motorist on January 10, 1976. Appellant asserted that he had a policy of uninsured motorist insurance with appellee. Appellee answered, stating as a defense, that the action was governed by the four-year statute of limitations applicable to torts. Section 95.11(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1979). Appellee’s motion for summary judgment on that ground was granted by the court below.
We hold that the court erred in applying a four-year limitations period to apply to the action. The rights and obligations of the parties below were governed by contract law, since those rights and obligations arose out of an insurance contract. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. v. Mason, 210 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968). That the uninsured motorist stands in a tort relationship to appellant does not change the fact the action below arose out of an insurance contract between the parties. Thus, only the five-year limitation period specified by section 95.11(2)(b) applies. We note that the Fifth District Court of Appeal has reached a result consistent with the result of our decision above in Kilbreath v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 401 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).
The summary judgment below is REVERSED and the case REMANDED for further proceedings.
OTT, A.C.J., and DANAHY, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lumbermens Mut. Cas. Co. v. August, 530 So. 2d 293 (Fla. 1988)…ction to recover uninsured motorist benefits is not strictly an action dealing with contract, but also involves some aspects of a tort action, we agree with the conclusion of the Second District Court of Appeal in Burnett v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 408 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 419 So. 2d 1197 (Fla.1982), that the rights and obligations of the parties under an insurance policy are governed by contract law since they arose out of an insurance contract. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. Clendening, 289 S…
-
Woodall v. Travelers Indem. Co., 699 So. 2d 1361 (Fla. 1997)…ar definition. . We agree with the parties that section 95.11(2), (6), Florida Statutes (1987), the five-year statute of limitations for actions on written contracts, is the applicable statute of limitations. See Burnett v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 408 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). . Ch. 77-468, § 30, at 2075, Laws of Fla. . The statute as originally enacted used the term "uninsured," but it is clear that the statute was referring to underinsured claims. Any doubt was eliminated when the statute was amend…
-
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Kolleen M. Davella, 450 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)…pon renewal; the policy holder having specifically rejected a Florida policy. Goodman v. Olsen, 305 So. 2d 753 (Fla.1975); Jemco, Inc. v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 400 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Cf Burnett v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, 408 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). The Colorado policy originally issued was renewed at six month intervals. After the Florida policy was rejected by Davella, no other policy was issued. The general rule in such situations is stated as follows: “If a court follo…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Lyda L. Mason, 210 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)
- Kilbreath v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 401 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)