THE SCHOOL BOARD OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
CITY OF SUNRISE AND OLD REPUBLIC INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEES
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The School Board of Broward County is entitled to coverage under an insurance policy issued to the City of Sunrise because the policy's clear and unambiguous language names the school board as an insured, regardless of whether the lease required such coverage.
An insurance policy naming the school board as an insured covers the school board for the incident at issue based on the policy's clear and unambiguous language.
[1] An insurance policy's clear and unambiguous language naming an insured controls coverage determinations, independent of whether an underlying lease agreement required the…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[t]he words found in a contract are to have a meaning attributed to them, and are the best possible evidence of the intent and meaning of the contracting parties.”
The court cited this principle to support interpreting the insurance policy according to its plain language.
The School Board of Broward County and the City of Sunrise entered into a lease agreement. The City of Sunrise procured an insurance policy that named…
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PER CURIAM.
The School Board of Broward County seeks review of a final judgment determining that the school board is not afforded coverage under an insurance policy procured by the City of Sunrise. While we agree with the trial court’s determination that the lease agreement between the parties did not require the city to obtain insurance which would cover the school board for its own and consequently its agent’s negligence, that fact does not alter the effect of the clear and unambiguous language of the insurance policy. See State Farm Fire & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Oliveras, 441 So. 2d 175 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), rev. denied, 451 So. 2d 849 (Fla.1984); Biltmore Systems Inc. v. Mai Kai, Inc., 413 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). As appellant notes, “[t]he words found in a contract are to have a meaning attributed to them, and are the best possible evidence of the intent and meaning of the contracting parties.” Jacobs v. Petrino, 351 So. 2d 1036, 1039 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), cert. denied, 349 So. 2d 1231 (Fla.1977), quoting from Wilcox v. Atkins, 213 So. 2d 879, 882 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968).
We reverse, holding that the insurance policy in issue to which appellant school board was added as a named insured does cover the school board for the incident concerning which this litigation arose.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
HERSEY, C.J., and DELL and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Jacobs v. Petrino, 351 So. 2d 1036 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)
- State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Oliveras, 441 So. 2d 175 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- Wilcox v. Atkins, 213 So. 2d 879 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968)
- King v. State, 413 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)