Citizens Property Insurance Corp. v. DemetrescuCitizens Property Insurance Corp. v. Demetrescu
Appellant, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”), appeals a circuit court order granting the insureds’ motion to compel an appraisal. Because the trial court failed to resolve all underlying coverage disputes in a procedurally proper manner prior to ordering an appraisal, we reverse.
Citizens issued a homeowners’ policy to the insureds, Adrian and Elena Demetres-cu, for the period from December 15, 2009 to December 15, 2010. On August 31, 2010, the insureds reported a claim to Citizens for damage to their home and some of its contents as a result of a roof leak that occurred following a series of wind and rain events earlier that month. Citizens denied coverage, citing multiple policy provisions. Citizens repeatedly refused the insureds’ demands for an appraisal.
The insureds filed suit against Citizens for breach of contract and to compel an appraisal. Citizens answered the complaint, denied that the loss was covered, and asserted multiple affirmative defenses. Citizens relied upon policy provisions excluding coverage for, among other things, wear and tear, constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over a period of 14 or more days, faulty or defective design or maintenance, neglect, and preexisting damage. Citizens also asserted that the insureds failed to comply with their post-loss duties under the policy. In their reply to Citizens’ affirmative defenses, the insureds claimed that Citizens was not prejudiced by any alleged deficiency in the insureds’ compliance with policy conditions and that Citizens had waived the right to raise, or should be estopped from raising, any such deficiency.
The standard of review applicable to a trial court’s order compelling an appraisal under an insurance policy is de novo. Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass’n v. Castilla,
In Johnson v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.,
Consistent with Johnson, we have held that the trial court must resolve all underlying coverage disputes prior to ordering an appraisal. See Sunshine State Ins. Co. v. Corridori,
“Appraisal exists for a limited purpose — the determination of ‘the amount of the loss.’ ” Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Mango Hill 6 Condo. Ass’n,
“Once the court establishes that the losses are covered by a policy, then those losses may be appraised.” Corrido-ri,
In this case, the trial court erred in submitting the case to appraisal without resolving all underlying coverage disputes. The trial court departed from controlling precedent when it ruled that “affirmative defenses dealing with specific exclusions under the policy are appropriate for appraisal as the defenses deal with the causation of the damages.” Because Citizens wholly denied that there was a covered loss, all coverage issues, including causation, were to be judicially determined by the trial court. See Johnson,
The trial court’s ruling that “water leaks are covered under the policy” was overly broad, as it failed to address whether any policy exclusion precluded coverage for the
Proper procedure requires that these coverage issues be resolved via summary judgment or at trial, not in a motion to compel appraisal. Counsel for the insureds improperly attempted to use the motion to compel appraisal as a vehicle for obtaining a ruling that the policy provided coverage, without moving for summary judgment under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.510(c) or proceeding to trial on any genuine issues of material fact. To the extent that the trial court’s order found coverage for this particular loss, the trial court’s ruling is not supported by competent evidence, either in the form of summary judgment evidence or trial evidence. A finding of coverage under these circumstances was procedurally improper and violated due process.
Because the trial court failed to resolve all underlying coverage disputes in a procedurally proper manner prior to ordering an appraisal, we reverse the order compelling appraisal and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and Remanded.