DARIO LABRADA AND MARIA DEL CARMEN CALERO, HIS WIFE, APPELLANTS,
v.
METROPOLITAN DADE COUNTY, ETC., APPELLEE
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Plaintiffs appealed a summary judgment dismissing their personal injury action against Metropolitan Dade County for failure to provide statutory notice. The court reversed, holding that a pre-suit letter identifying Miami International Airport as the accident location provided sufficient notice under Florida's tort claims statute despite imprecise wording referring to "your facilities."
The letter provided sufficient notice to the Department of Insurance to ascertain that plaintiffs' claim was against the owners and operators of Miami International Airport, despite the imprecise wording referring to "your facilities." The summary judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings.
[1] A letter to the Department of Insurance is sufficient notice of a claim against a county if it identifies the location of the accident and provides enough information for…
[2] A claim for loss of consortium is not properly before an appellate court if the sufficiency of the notice for that specific claim was not argued in the lower court.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We are convinced the letter provided the Department of Insurance with sufficient information to ascertain that plaintiffs' claim was against the owners and/or operators of Miami International Airport notwithstanding the imprecise wording.”
Establishes the court's holding that despite general language, the letter was sufficiently clear to identify the defendant.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDario Labrada and Maria Del Carmen Calero were injured in an accident at Miami International Airport. Before filing suit, plaintiffs' counsel sent a l…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
Plaintiffs, Dario Labrada and Maria Del Carmen Calero, his wife, appeal from a summary judgment in favor of defendant, Metropolitan Dade County [County], in their personal injury action against the County. The summary judgment was entered upon a determination that plaintiffs failed to furnish the necessary notice in writing to the Department of Insurance prior to initiating their action as required by section 768.28(6), Florida Statutes (Supp.1994).
Although plaintiffs’ counsel sent a letter to the Department of Insurance prior to filing this action, the County argued that the letter did not sufficiently identify the County as the agency allegedly responsible for plaintiffs’ injuries because the letter addressed to the Department of Insurance refers to the negligent construction and maintenance of “your facilities.” The letter does, however, clearly identify Miami International Airport as the location where the accident occurred. We are convinced the letter provided the Department of Insurance with sufficient information to ascertain that plaintiffs’ claim was against the owners and/or operators of Miami International Airport notwithstanding the imprecise wording. See Franklin v. Palm Beach County, 534 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988).
This fact clearly distinguishes Lopez v. Prager, 625 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993), rev. denied, 634 So. 2d 625 (Fla.1994).
The issue of the sufficiency of the notice as to the wife’s loss of consortium claim was not argued below and is, therefore, not properly before this court for appellate review. See Wilkerson v. Alachua County, 675 So. 2d 951 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Sierra v. Public Health Trust of Dade County, 661 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
For the above reasons, the judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Sierra v. Pub. Health Tr. OF Dade Cnty., 661 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Franklin v. Palm Beach Cnty., 534 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)
- Wilkerson v. Alachua Cnty., 675 So. 2d 951 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)
- Herrera v. State, 625 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Emilia Lopez v. Prager, 625 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)