GENERAL CONTAINER SERVICE, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIAM H. MCGEE & CO., ET AL., APPELLEES
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.
General Container Service appeals the dismissal of its claim against an insurance broker for coinsurance coverage following Hurricane Andrew. The court reverses, holding that General Container stated a potential cause of action against the broker in its capacity as broker, not merely as coinsurer, and should be permitted to amend its pleadings.
Although General Container may be foreclosed from suing McGee as a coinsurer because McGee was not a party to the insurance contract, McGee could potentially be liable as a broker, and General Container should be permitted to amend its pleadings to assert such a claim. Dismissal with prejudice was therefore erroneous.
[1] A trial court should grant leave to amend pleadings when the mere possibility of a cause of action exists, provided the privilege to amend has not been abused.
[2] A broker may be liable to an insured in its role as a broker, even if not liable as a coinsurer.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“The mere possibility that the plaintiff has a cause of action requires that leave to amend the pleadings be given, provided the privilege to amend has not been abused.”
Establishes the liberal standard for permitting amendments to pleadings in Florida law.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGeneral Container suffered losses from Hurricane Andrew and held two insurance policies: one from Continental Insurance and one from Phoenix Assurance…
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 Leave To Amend Pleadings cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
General Container Service, Inc., appeals a final order dismissing with prejudice its claim against the broker for its coinsurance. For the following reasons, we reverse.
General container suffered loss as a result of Hurricane Andrew. It had two insurance policies: one provided by Continental Insurance and the other by Phoenix Assurance which was brokered by the appellee, William H. McGee & Company. Neither policy settled General container’s claim. Continental denied coverage because it claimed that General container’s policy had been retroactively canceled. Phoenix denied coverage because it claimed that its policy required coinsurance.
Following an internal audit, Continental sued General container alleging additional premiums were due under the Continental policy. General Container filed a counterclaim for Continental’s denial of coverage. Sometime after, General Container amended its counterclaim to implead Phoenix and the broker, McGee, as third-party counter-defendants. In its amended counterclaim, General Container alleged a cause of action against McGee as an coinsurer on the Ploenix policy. The trial court found that McGee was not a party to the insurance contract between General Container and Ploenix. Consequently, the trial court dismissed General container’s claim against McGee, erroneously, with prejudice. This appeal follows.
The mere possibility that the plaintiff has a cause of action requires that leave to amend the pleadings be given, provided the privilege to amend has not been abused. See Slavin v. McCann Plumbing Co., 73 So. 2d 902 (Fla.1954); Central Fla. Invs. v. Charles Levin, Timeshares, 659 So. 2d 492, 493 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Delia & Wilson, Inc. v. Wilson, 448 So. 2d 621, 622 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Janko v. City of Hialeah, 212 So. 2d 800, 800-01 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968). In this case, though General Container may be foreclosed from bringing an action against McGee as a coinsurer, it is possible that McGee could be liable to General Container in its role as a broker. See Warehouse Foods, Inc. v. Corporate Risk Mngmt., 530 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Caplan v. La Chance, 219 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969). Moreover, since General container has not amended its pleadings as against McGee, there has been no abuse of the privilege.
Reversed and remanded with directions to permit the pleading to be amended.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Barnes v. Horan, 841 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)…that the defendants would not be prejudiced and that the privilege to amend has not been abused. Video Indep. Med. Examination, Inc. v. City of Weston, 792 So. 2d 680, 681 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); General Container Serv., Inc. v. William H. McGee & Co., 734 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). . Mr. Horan has expressed concern that allowing the circuit court judges of Monroe County to be subpoenaed in this case would set a dangerous precedent for potential cases in other circuits in which the testimony of hundreds of…
-
Kappa Grp., Inc. v. Garcia, 756 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…quate estoppel letter. “The mere possibility that the plaintiff has a cause of action requires that leave to amend the pleadings be given, provided the privilege to amend has not been abused.” General Container Serv., Inc. v. William H. McGee & Co., 734 So. 2d 570, 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). Reversed and remanded.…
Authorities Cited
- In re Tr. Agreement of Jane Greer Kelly, 448 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
- Slavin v. McCann Plumbing Co., 73 So. 2d 902 (Fla. 1954)
- Caplan v. Logan S. LA Chance & Chicago Ins. Co., 219 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969)
- Warehouse Foods, Inc. v. Corporate Risk Mgmt. Servs., Inc., 530 So. 2d 422 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Cent. Fla. Invs., Inc. v. Levin, 659 So. 2d 492 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Janko v. City OF Hialeah, 212 So. 2d 800 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)