Background
Lonne Letteri made a Hurricane Ian property-damage claim under his Safepoint Insurance policy. Safepoint accepted coverage, inspected the home, and paid about $200,000. Letteri then served a statutory notice of intent to sue seeking additional damages and attorney’s fees. Safepoint responded by invoking the policy’s appraisal provision.
The parties selected appraisers, who selected an umpire. Appraisal was not completed within 90 days after the presuit-notice period, so Letteri sued for breach of contract. The case was abated by agreement while appraisal continued. The umpire awarded policy limits, which Safepoint paid within the policy’s 60-day payment period. Letteri conceded that the appraisal delay was no party’s fault and was attributable to the umpire’s post-hurricane workload.
The Court’s Holding
The Sixth District affirmed summary judgment for Safepoint. Its post-suit payment of the timely appraisal award was not a confession of judgment under former section 627.428(1), because Safepoint had accepted coverage, properly invoked appraisal, and did not avoid or unreasonably delay either appraisal or payment. Letteri’s lawsuit was not a necessary catalyst to obtaining benefits.
Section 627.70152 permitted Letteri to sue once appraisal had not concluded within 90 days, but it did not require him to sue or impose a 90-day deadline to complete appraisal. Nor did it require Safepoint to make a presuit settlement offer after Safepoint elected appraisal rather than settlement. Accordingly, Letteri had no basis for attorney’s fees; the court also separately affirmed the denial of prejudgment interest.
Key Takeaways
- An insurer’s timely payment after a contractually compliant appraisal is not automatically a confession of judgment merely because the insured sued before payment.
- The former 90-day provision in section 627.70152(4)(b) authorized suit if appraisal remained unfinished; it did not set an appraisal-completion deadline.
- When an insurer accepts coverage and elects appraisal, it need not also make a presuit settlement offer under section 627.70152.
Why It Matters
The decision limits fee recovery in Florida property-insurance cases where an insured files suit while a properly invoked appraisal is still proceeding. The court distinguished cases in which litigation was needed to force an insurer to accept coverage, initiate appraisal, or pay benefits.
For insurers and policyholders, the key question is whether the claim process actually broke down and whether the lawsuit was necessary to obtain contractual benefits—not simply whether payment followed the filing of suit.