MERCURY INSURANCE COMPANY OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
PHILIP B. MARKHAM AND MICHAEL W. ROBERTS, APPELLEES

Fla. 1st DCA | 2006-10-03
No. 1D05-2078
ALLEN and DAVIS, JJ., concur.
938 So. 2d 607 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2006) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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.

Synopsis

Mercury Insurance appealed a partial summary judgment determining that its insured's policy provided coverage despite a rescission claim based on alleged material misrepresentation. The court dismissed the appeal, holding that Rule 9.110(m), which permits immediate appeal of coverage determinations, does not apply when the underlying personal injury action between the insured and injured party has already been settled.


Holding

Rule 9.110(m) does not confer jurisdiction for appellate review of a partial summary judgment on coverage when the underlying personal injury action has already been settled. The rule requires an unresolved underlying action to justify expedited appellate review of a coverage determination, and such a circumstance does not exist here.


Headnotes

[1] A partial summary judgment determining insurance coverage is not a final order subject to immediate appellate review under rule 9.110(m), Florida Rules of Appellate Proce…

[2] Rule 9.110(m), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, does not create jurisdiction to consider an appeal of a partial summary judgment on insurance coverage when the under…

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Key Quotes

“When rule 9.110(m) is analyzed in context with the supreme court's decision in Reed, which was the genesis for the rule, it is clear to us that rule 9.110(m), does not confer jurisdiction on this court to consider Mercury's appeal.”

Establishes that Rule 9.110(m) must be read in light of its foundational case and does not automatically permit appeal of all coverage determinations.

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Facts & Procedural History

Philip Markham was injured by a truck owned by Michael Roberts and insured by Mercury Insurance. Markham sued Roberts and the driver. Mercury rescinde…

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Opinion of the Court
THOMAS, J.

THOMAS, J.

This case requires us to determine whether the appealed partial summary judgment determining insurance coverage is a final order under rule 9.110(m), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure (2005), and Canal Insurance Company v. Reed, 666 So. 2d 888 (Fla.1996), where there is no unresolved underlying personal injury action between the insured and the injured party. We hold that rule 9.110(m) does not create jurisdiction to consider this appeal, and we dismiss the appeal.

This case arose after Appellee Philip Markham suffered an injury when a truck, owned and insured by Appellee Michael Roberts but driven by someone else, hit Markham in a parking lot. Markham brought a claim against both the driver and Roberts. Roberts filed a claim with his insurer, Mercury Insurance Company; Mercury rescinded Roberts’ policy and denied the claim due to Roberts’ alleged material misrepresentation that his truck had not been modified or altered. After Markham and Roberts settled their personal injury claim in excess of the policy limits, the trial court issued a final, non-executable judgment in favor of Markham. In their settlement agreement, Roberts assigned his rights under his insurance policy to Markham. Markham then filed a complaint against Mercury and Roberts.

After a period of discovery, both Mercury and Markham filed motions for partial summary judgment on the issue of insurance coverage.

The trial court granted Markham’s motion, finding the term “modified” to be ambiguous. When an ambiguity exists in an insurance policy, the policy provision is strictly construed against the drafter. Fayad v. Clarendon Nat’l Ins. Co., 899 So. 2d 1082, 1089 (Fla.2005).

Therefore, the trial court found insurance coverage as a matter of law in favor of Markham and entered an order granting partial summary judgment in his favor. Most importantly for purposes of this appeal, however, the trial court did not rule on the issue of damages which may be awarded against Mercury. Mercury immediately appealed the trial court’s order granting partial summary judgment under rule 9.110(m), which allows for review of “[jjudgments that determine the existence or nonexistence of insurance coverage in cases in which a claim has been made against an insured and coverage thereof is disputed by the insurer” During oral argument, we requested that the parties address the issue presented here.

We now reject both parties’ assertions that we have jurisdiction to consider this appeal. When rule 9.110(m) is analyzed in context with the supreme court’s decision in Reed, which was the genesis for the rule, it is clear to us that rule 9.110(m), does not confer jurisdiction on this court to consider Mercury’s appeal.

In Reed, an insurance company brought a third-party action against the insured, seeking a declaration of no coverage under the policy. The underlying personal injury action between the insured and the injured party remained pending in the trial court and could not be resolved until the coverage issue between the insurer and the insured was resolved. Here, there is no such underlying personal injury action because it was already resolved with the settlement between Markham and Roberts. Instead, this case involves a typical partial summary judgment, which is non-final because it only determines liability between two parties, leaving other issues yet to be resolved. See McGurn v. Scott, 596 So. 2d 1042 (Fla.1992) (citing Gore v. Hansen, 59 So. 2d 538 (Fla.1952) (explaining that an order is final when there is no judicial labor to be done other than execution of the judgment)).

Here, unlike the situation in Reed, there is no danger of delaying the underlying action absent prompt appellate review; therefore, the summary judgment is not subject to immediate and expedited review under rule 9.110(m).

Consequently, we dismiss the appeal.

DISMISSED.

ALLEN and DAVIS, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Universal Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Stathopoulos, 113 So. 3d 957 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
    …o. v. Perez, 712 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). To the extent that the present case is in conflict with these decisions, we certify the conflict. We reach the same conclusion as did the First District in Mercury Insurance Co. of Florida v. Markham, 938 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006), although by a somewhat different analysis. . The second factor in Dahly is not relevant to the present case.…
  • Gulf Power Co. v. Harper, 940 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
    …of Appellate Procedure 9.110(m), which permits an appeal in such circumstances. But Canal Insurance and rule 9.110(m) do not provide a separate right to appeal outside of those limited circumstances. See Mercury Insurance Co. of Florida v. Markham, 938 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). In accordance with Mendez the challenged order in this case is non-final and non-appealable, and this appeal is therefore dismissed. DAVIS and POLSTON, JJ., concur.…
  • Mercury Ins. Co. OF Fla. v. Markham, 36 So. 3d 730 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)
    …. THOMAS, J., concurs; PADOVANO, J., dissents with opinion. * Mercury sought appellate review of the trial court’s order granting partial summary judgment, but we dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Mercury Ins. Co. of Fla. v. Markham, 938 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).…

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