GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, PETITIONER,
v.
EDELMIDA RODRIGUEZ; PAULINO RODRIGUEZ; WILLIAM PRUITT, AS ADMINISTRATOR AD LITEM AND/OR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF OSWALDO ST. BLANCHARD A/K/A OSWALDO BLANCHARD; AND BARNETT & BARNARD, P.A., RESPONDENTS
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.
Discovery relating to a statutory bad faith claim is premature until coverage and extent of loss are determined.
Geico petitions for certiorari to quash a non-final order allowing discovery on a bad faith claim before coverage issues are resolved. The order also …
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 Statutory Bad Faith cases and more on FLexlaw
Geico General Insurance Company petitions for a writ of certiorari quashing a non-final order of the circuit court. The order, though providing for abatement of a bad faith claim1 against Geico in connec*1213tion with an automobile collision and injury claim, specified that “proper and non-privileged discovery may proceed” regarding the bad faith claim.
Because such discovery is premature in the current procedural posture of the circuit court case — coverage issues have not yet been determined — the order must be quashed. Discovery relating to the statutory bad faith claim may not be commenced until such time, if ever, as the insured’s coverage and extent of loss have been determined. XL Specialty Ins. Co. v. Skystream, Inc., 988 So.2d 96, 98 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Gov’t Employees Ins. Co. v. Rodriguez, 960- So.2d 794 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007). Discovery relating to a generalized “common law” bad faith claim must also be quashed because of the pendency of the statutory claim and the similarity of the discovery applicable to that claim.
Writ granted; order quashed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Gen. Star Indem. Co. v. Atl. Hospitality OF Fla., LLC, 93 So. 3d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…surer’s business policies and practices before there has been a determination of coverage and the extent of loss, we grant the petition and quash the order. This holding is in accordance with our decision in Geico General Insurance Co. v. Rodriguez, 23 So. 3d 1212 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009). In Rodriguez, the insured’s bad faith claim purported to plead both statutory and common law duties of good faith. Although the trial court abated the bad faith claim, it nonetheless permitted discovery related to that claim to p…
Authorities Cited
- XL Specialty Ins. Co. v. Skystream, Inc., 988 So. 2d 96 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Citizens Prop. Ins. Co. v. Bertot, 14 So. 3d 1073 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)