LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT/CROSS APPELLEE,
v.
GEORGE A. ALVAREZ, APPELLEE/CROSS APPELLANT
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.
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company appealed an order awarding pre-judgment interest and attorney's fees in a hurricane-related property damage insurance dispute. The court reversed the pre-judgment interest award but affirmed and clarified the award of attorney's fees for services rendered in establishing entitlement to a prior fee award.
No pre-judgment interest is available when an insurer timely pays the award in accordance with the insurance contract. However, an insured is entitled to attorney's fees for the services of counsel in establishing entitlement to and effecting payment of a previous award of fees, as provided by court order and by Florida Statute section 627.428.
[1] Pre-judgment interest is not available on an insurance appraisal award when the insurer pays the award promptly after its filing.
[2] An insurer's prompt payment of an appraisal award precludes the insured from recovering pre-judgment interest.
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“no pre-award interest is available”
Establishes the holding that pre-judgment interest cannot be awarded on insurance claims when the insurer timely pays the award.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLiberty Mutual insured George Alvarez's property. Following Hurricane Andrew damage, the insurer paid an award three weeks after its filing in accorda…
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 Appraisal Award cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
Both sides appeal from an order awarding the insured pre-judgment interest and a portion of the attorney’s fees claimed in a typical “second-Hurricane Andrew” property damage insurance dispute. We find partial merit in each party’s position.
I.
The record shows that, in accordance with the insurance contract,1 the carrier paid the award three weeks after its filing. See generally Miller v. First Service Corp., 471 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Warren v. Old Dominion Ins. Co., 465 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 5th DCA), pet. for review denied, 476 So. 2d 675 (Fla.1985). Nonetheless, the court granted “pre-judgment” interest from the date appraisal was demanded. On the insurer’s appeal, we reverse that ruling on the authority of Aries Insurance Co. v. Hercas Corp., 781 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), which squarely holds that no pre-award interest is available. We hereby reendorse Aries, rejecting the plaintiffs claims that it was incorrectly decided, see Miller, 471 So. 2d at 1332; Warren, 465 So. 2d at 1376, and that it is somehow contrary to Independent Fire Ins. Co. v. Lugassy, 593 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). Lugassy involved a carrier’s repudiation of coverage which did not exist in Aries or here.
II.
We also reverse the denial of attorney’s fees for the services of the plaintiffs counsel in establishing his entitlement to and effecting payment of a previous award of fees, as provided both by an order agreed to by both parties and by section 627.428, Florida Statutes (2000). See State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Palma, 629 So. 2d 830 (Fla.1993); Sierra v. Allstate Ins. Co., 725 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), overruled on other issue in United States Fidelity & Guar. Co. v. Romay, 744 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999).
The cause is remanded with directions to strike the pre-judgment interest award and for the determination of the amount of the additional fees required by this opinion. The order under review is otherwise affirmed.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part.
. 10. Loss Payment. We will adjust all losses with you. We will pay you unless some other person is named in the policy or is legally entitled to receive payment. Loss will be payable 60 days after we receive your proof of loss and:
c. there is a filing of an appraisal award with us.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lexington Ins. Co. v. Ramdas and Chitra Bhandari, 807 So. 2d 727 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)…f this case. See Allstate Ins. Co. v. Blanco, 791 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Martinez, 790 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), review granted, No. SC01-1622, 805 So. 2d 804 (Fla. Jan. 15, 2002); Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Alvarez, 785 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)(holding that Aries Ins. Co. v. Hercas Corp., 781 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), does not conflict with Independent Fire Ins. Co. v. Lugassy, 593 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)), review denied, 800 So. 2d 612 (Fla.2001). On remand,…
-
Allstate Ins. Co. v. Roberto and Maria Blanco, 791 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…e Blancos had not suffered the loss [*517] of a vested property right. Thus, the Blancos were not entitled to prejudgment interest prior to receiving an appraisal award which determined their actual loss. See also Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. v. Alvarez, 785 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Aries Ins. Co. v. Hercas Carp., 781 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)(stating that the insured was entitled to prejudgment interest from the date of the appraisal award as that was the date on which the damages were liquidated). Thu…
-
N. Pointe Ins. Co. v. Tomas, 16 So. 3d 977 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…ent interest from the date of the loss. See Lugassy; accord, State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Albert, 618 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (holding that prejudgment interest is payable from the date of the loss); see also Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Alvarez, 785 So. 2d 700 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001) (making distinction that, where there is no denial of coverage, prejudgment interest is payable from date of appraisal as opposed to date of the loss). We affirm the trial court’s order confirming the appraisal award and awarding…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Palma, 629 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1993)
- United States Fid. & Guar. Co. v. Juan and Julia Romay, 744 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
- Indep. Fire Ins. Co. v. Jacques Lugassy and Debra Lugassy, 593 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- Warren v. OLD Dominion Ins. Co., 465 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- Miller v. First Serv. Corp. OF the Fla. Keys, 471 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Chiverton v. Republic Indus., 781 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)
- The Aries Ins. Co. v. Hercas Corp., 781 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)
- Sierra v. Allstate Ins. Co., 725 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)