COREY WAPNICK, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE FARM MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the plaintiff was not entitled to attorney's fees because the statutory conditions for recovery were not met.
[1] Attorney's fees are not recoverable under section 627.428 when there is no dispute over whether an uninsured motorist policy provides coverage for an uninsured motorist p…
[2] A trial court's correct ruling will be affirmed even if the court's reasoning was flawed, provided there is a basis in the record to support the judgment.
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 intelligenceThe plaintiff appealed the denial of attorney's fees after the insurer voluntarily paid the remainder of his uninsured motorist claim. The plaintiff h…
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 Uninsured Motorist Claim cases and more on FLexlaw
This case comes to us a second time for review. See Wapnick v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 54 So.3d 1065 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). Wapnick appeals the trial court’s order denying his request for attorney’s fees1 after State Farm voluntarily paid the remainder of his uninsured motorist claim. We affirm the trial court’s ruling.
Although the parties frame their arguments around Florida Statutes Sections 627.428 and 624.155 (2013), there is no need for extended analysis under either section. In his amended complaint, Wap-nick specifically prayed for relief stating “[s]hould the defendant dispute whether the policy provides coverage, plaintiff also demands reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to Fla. Stat. §§ 627.428 and 627.727(8).”
Section 627.727(8) states that “[t]he provisions of s. 627.428 do not apply to any action brought pursuant to this section against the uninsured motorist insurer unless there is a dispute over whether the policy provides coverage for an uninsured motorist proven to be liable for the accident.” § 627.727(8), Fla. Stat. (2013). Since there was never such a dispute, sec*969tion 627.428 does not apply to this case, and Wapnick is not entitled to attorney’s fees.
Section 627.727(8) and its limitation on recovery under section 627.428 were not discussed by either party, and were thus not part of the trial court’s written order. However, our supreme court has held that “if a trial court reaches the right result, but for the wrong reasons, it will be upheld if there is any basis which would support the judgment in the record.” Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d 638, 644 (Fla.1999). Therefore, since there is a basis in the record to support the fact that section 627.428 does not apply, we affirm the trial court’s ruling.
Affirmed.
WARNER, GROSS and CONNER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Radio Station Wqba, 731 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 1999)
- Wapnick v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 54 So. 3d 1065 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)