MARYLAND CASUALTY COMPANY, PETITIONER,
v.
ALICIA DIAGNOSTIC, INC., HASSAN SOLTANI, ET AL., RESPONDENTS
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Florida appellate court quashed trial court's order denying motion to dismiss, holding that bad faith claims against an insurer cannot proceed concurrently with underlying coverage disputes.
Bad faith claims against an insurer must not be litigated until after any underlying coverage dispute is resolved.
[1] Bad faith claims against an insurer cannot be litigated concurrently with underlying coverage disputes; such claims must await resolution of the coverage issue to avoid p…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“if there is no insurance coverage, nor any loss or injury for which the insurer is contractually obligated to indemnify, the insurer cannot have acted in bad faith in refusing to settle the claim”
Explaining why bad faith claims cannot proceed without first resolving coverage disputes
Maryland Casualty Company sought certiorari review of a trial court order denying its motion to dismiss, which allowed plaintiffs to pursue both a fir…
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ORFINGER, J.
Petitioner, Maryland Casualty Company, seeks certiorari review of the trial court’s order denying its motion to dismiss. Maryland Casualty argues that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law by allowing Respondents, the plaintiffs below, to concurrently pursue a first party breach of insurance contract claim and a bad faith claim against Maryland Casualty. We agree and quash the order on review.
Under Florida law, it is inappropriate to litigate a bad faith claim against an insurer until after any underlying coverage dispute is resolved. This is premised on the notion that if there is no insurance coverage, nor any loss or injury for which the insurer is contractually obligated to indemnify, the insurer cannot have acted in bad faith in refusing to settle the claim. Similarly, if there is no coverage, then the insured would suffer no damages resulting from its insurer’s unfair settlement practices. In addition, an insurer would be prejudiced by having to litigate either a bad faith claim or an unfair settlement practices claim in tandem with a coverage claim, because the evidence used to prove either bad faith or unfair settlement practices could jaundice the jury’s view on the coverage issue. OneBeacon Ins. Co. v. Delta Fire Sprinklers, Inc., 898 So. 2d 113, 115 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).
Because we hold that it was improper to deny Maryland Casualty’s motion to dismiss without prejudice as to Respondents’ bad faith/unfair settlement practices claim, we quash the order under review and remand for further proceedings consistent herewith.
ORDER QUASHED; REMANDED.
THOMPSON and TORPY, JJ„ concur.
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Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Calonge, 246 So. 3d 447 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…f liability and extent of damages owed on the first-party insurance contract.... Such a claim should be dismissed as premature."); GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. v. Harvey, 109 So. 3d 236, 239 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) ; Maryland Cas. Co. v. Alicia Diagnostic, Inc., 961 So. 2d 1091, 1092 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (stating that "an insurer would be prejudiced by having to litigate either a bad faith claim or an unfair settlement practices claim in tandem with a coverage claim, because the evidence used to prove either bad faith or un…
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Southern-Owners Ins. Co. v. Galati Yacht Sales, LLC (M.D. Fla. 2022)…faith claim, then Galati’s counterclaim is not ripe. “Under Florida law, it is inappropriate to litigate a bad faith claim against an insurer until after any underlying coverage dispute is resolved.” Md. Cas. Co. v. Alicia Diagnostic, Inc., 961 So. 2d 1091, 1092 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). “If there is no insurance coverage, nor any loss or injury for which the insurer is contractually obligated to indemnify, the insurer cannot have acted in bad faith in refusing to settle the claim . . . [and]…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Onebeacon Ins. Co. v. DELTA Fire Sprinklers, Inc., 898 So. 2d 113 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)