Rosario Valer v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
3D2023-1983
| Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | Jan 8, 2025Background
- Valer was insured under a Citizens all-risk homeowner’s policy covering her Miami-Dade home.
- In August 2021, Valer’s home suffered water damage from a kitchen faucet leak; Citizens denied coverage, citing a policy exclusion for repeated seepage or leakage of water.
- Valer sued for breach of contract; the trial court scheduled and enforced strict pretrial and discovery deadlines.
- Valer’s counsel withdrew late in the case due to medical and personal conflicts; new counsel appeared the day after withdrawal was granted.
- Citizens moved for summary judgment based on the repeated seepage exclusion, and the summary judgment hearing was set unilaterally by Citizens while discovery (critical depositions) was still pending.
- The trial court denied Valer’s motion for continuance of the summary judgment hearing and granted summary judgment in Citizens’s favor, finding Valer failed to meet her burden of proof.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff’s Argument | Defendant’s Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denial of Continuance | Needed additional discovery (key depositions were noticed and pending); did not delay in hiring new counsel | Valer had ample time; Citizens complied with deadlines; delay would prejudice Citizens | Denying continuance was abuse of discretion—discovery was ongoing and essential depositions were scheduled |
| Burden of Proof under All-Risk Policy | Only needed to prove loss during policy period; insurer has burden to prove exclusions | Valer had initial burden to disprove repeated seepage exclusion | Trial court erred—Valer only needed to show loss; Citizens had burden to prove exclusion |
Key Cases Cited
- Carbonell v. Bellsouth Telecomms., Inc., 675 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (sets standard for continuance to allow further discovery before summary judgment)
- Sacramento v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., 342 So. 3d 737 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (reversing summary judgment where key depositions were still pending)
- Mejia v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., 161 So. 3d 576 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (insurer has burden to prove exclusions under all-risk policy)
- Deshazior v. SafePoint Ins. Co., 305 So. 3d 752 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020) (burden shifting for policy exclusions in all-risk insurance policies)
- Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, 760 So. 2d 126 (Fla. 2000) (sets de novo standard of review for summary judgment)
- Vella v. Salaues, 290 So. 3d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (abuse of discretion standard applies to denial of continuance)