CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION, A FLORIDA GOVERNMENT ENTITY, PETITIONER,
v.
DONNA KING, RESPONDENT
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.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation sought certiorari review of a trial court order sustaining an insured's objection to Citizens' invocation of the statutory neutral evaluation process in a sinkhole insurance dispute. The appellate court granted Citizens' petition, quashing the trial court's order and directing that the case be stayed pending completion of the neutral evaluation process as required by statute.
Citizens did not waive its right to neutral evaluation by participating in litigation. The trial court's order prohibiting Citizens from invoking the neutral evaluation process was quashed, and the court directed that the underlying proceedings be stayed pending completion of the neutral evaluation process as required by statute.
[1] An insurer's participation in litigation does not necessarily waive its right to invoke the statutory neutral evaluation process.
[2] A trial court's order prohibiting an insurer from invoking the neutral evaluation process may be quashed by certiorari.
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“to the extent the order under review prohibits Citizens from invoking the neutral evaluation process, we grant the petition and quash the order”
The court's holding that the trial court erred in preventing Citizens from invoking its statutory right to neutral evaluation.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMs. King filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Citizens for sinkhole losses to her property covered by a sinkhole insurance policy. Prior to tria…
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 Declaratory Judgment cases and more on FLexlaw
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”) seeks certiorari review of the trial court’s order sustaining Donna King’s objection to Citizen’s notice of stay pursuant to section 627.7074(10), Florida Statutes (2013), in the underlying breach of contract action brought by Ms. King against Citizens.
Ms. King filed her lawsuit against Citizens for breach of contract and damages for sinkhole losses to her property, which Citizens insured and for which Ms. King had a sinkhole policy. Prior to trial, Citizens invoked the statutory neutral evaluation process and filed a notice of stay with the trial court pursuant to section 627.7074(10). Ms. King filed an objection to the notice of stay, arguing that Citizens had waived its right to neutral evaluation by participating in litigation of the case in circuit court. She also contended that Citizens failed to comply with the neutral evaluation statute when it did not provide Ms. King with the statutorily mandated consumer information pamphlet notifying Ms. King of her right to participate in the neutral evaluation process. See § 627.7074(3). The trial court sustained Ms. King’s objection and found that Citizens “waived its right to neutral evaluation by actively participating in litigation.” The order did not address the argument that Citizens failed to comply with statutory and contractual notice requirements.1
As we did in Citizens Property Insurance Corp. v. Trapeo, 136 So.3d 670, 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014), to the extent the order under review prohibits Citizens from invoking the neutral evaluation process, we grant the petition and quash the order. See also Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Hanos, 161 So.3d 424 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Finley, 160 So.3d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014). Additionally, we treat the remaining portion of Citizens’ petition, challenging the denial of the automatic stay, as a petition for writ of mandamus and grant the petition. The trial court is directed to stay the underlying proceedings pending completion of neutral evaluation, as required by section 627.7074(10). See Trapeo, 136 So.3d at 680; Finley, 160 So.3d 1286; Hanos, 161 So.3d 424.
Certiorari petition granted; order quashed; mandamus petition granted with directions.
CASANUEVA and KHOUZAM, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Trapeo, 136 So. 3d 670 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Finley, 160 So. 3d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Hanos, 161 So. 3d 424 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)