STEVEN ALBRITTON AND WANDA ALBRITTON
v.
STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY
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An insured is not entitled to attorney's fees under § 627.428 when the suit is filed prematurely before the insured has complied with the insurance contract's appraisal clause.
[1] An insured is entitled to attorney's fees under section 627.428, Florida Statutes, only when it was reasonably necessary to file a court action to resolve the dispute.
[2] A lawsuit filed before the insured complies with an appraisal clause is premature and does not justify an award of attorney's fees.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In order to be entitled to attorney's fees [under section 627.428, Florida Statutes], it must have been reasonably necessary for the insured to file a court action.”
Travelers of Fla. v. Stormont, cited approvingly by the court for the standard governing attorney's fees claims.
The Albrittons filed suit against State Farm over an insurance claim dispute. State Farm had demanded appraisal, which is a contractual dispute resolu…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See § 627.428, Fla. Stat. (2018). See also Travelers of Fla.
v. Stormont, 43 So. 3d 941, 944-45 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (noting: “In order to be entitled to attorney’s fees [under section 627.428, Florida Statutes], it must have been reasonably necessary for the insured to file a court action” and further concluding, under similar facts: “The suit was premature. Once the insurer demanded appraisal, the insured was required to comply with the appraisal clause. Proceeding to court was not justified.”); Goldman v. United
Servs. Auto. Ass’n, 244 So. 3d 310, 312 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018) (affirming summary judgment in favor of insurer where trial court found the insured’s suit was “merely a preemptive lawsuit intended to obtain attorneys’ fees for the usual efforts in negotiating an insurance claim”) (citation omitted); State
Farm Fla. Ins. Co. v. Lime Bay Condo, Inc., 187 So. 3d 932, 935 (Fla. 4th
DCA 2016) (holding that “when the insured moves for attorney’s fees [under section 627.428], the underlying issue is whether the suit was filed for a legitimate purpose, and whether the filing acted as a necessary catalyst to resolve the dispute and force the insurer to satisfy its obligations under the insurance contract”); Beverly v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 50 So. 3d 628, 633 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (holding an insured is entitled to an award of attorney’s fees under section 627.428 where the insurer “wrongfully caus[ed] its insured to resort to litigation in order to resolve a conflict with its insurer when it was within the company’s power to resolve it”) (citation omitted); Hill v. State Farm
Fla. Ins. Co., 35 So. 3d 956, 960 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (observing: “It is only when the claims adjusting process breaks down and the parties are no longer working to resolve the claim within the contract, but are actually taking steps that breach the contract, that the insured may be entitled to an award fees under section 627.428”).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hill v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 35 So. 3d 956 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)
- State Farm Fla. Ins. Co. v. Lime BAY Condo., Inc., 187 So. 3d 932 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)
- Beverly v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 50 So. 3d 628 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)
- Willy Michael Goldman and Shirley Goldman v. United Servs. Auto. Ass'n, Inc., 244 So. 3d 310 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018)
- Travelers OF Fla. v. Stormont, 43 So. 3d 941 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)