Am. Coastal Ins. Co. v. Ironwood, Inc.

330 So.3d 570

AMERICAN COASTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellant,

v.IRONWOOD, INC., Appellee.

No. 2D20-3406

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

October 27, 2021

Hope C. Zelinger, Samantha S. Epstein, Lilian Rodriguez-Baz, and Krista L. Elsasser of Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., Fort Lauderdale, for Appellant.

Cary J. Goggin and Amanda C. Broadwell of Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC, Naples, for Appellee.

NORTHCUTT, Judge.

American Coastal Insurance Company appeals an order staying litigation and compelling an appraisal of damage to property of its insured, Ironwood, Inc. We reverse because the directive to submit to an appraisal is premature.

This case arises from a dispute between Ironwood, a condominium association in Naples, and American Coastal over the former's claim for property damage caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. Ironwood initially filed a claim for roof damage in November 2017. American Coastal adjusted the claim and issued several payments for repairs. The resolution of that initial roofing claim is not in dispute.

In February 2019, Ironwood filed an additional claim for damage to doors and windows caused by the same hurricane. American Coastal began investigating the new claim and requested a variety of documents from Ironwood. Ironwood then invoked its right to an appraisal before American Coastal made a coverage determination on the windows-and-doors claim.

American Coastal maintained that an appraisal was premature because Ironwood had not yet provided all the documentation American Coastal requested regarding the damage to the windows and doors. Ironwood disagreed and filed suit, claiming breach of contract and seeking an appraisal and compensatory damages.

Ironwood eventually moved for a stay of the litigation and for an order compelling an appraisal. The circuit court granted the motion. Although the court held a hearing on the motion and took limited testimony on the issue of Ironwood's compliance with its postloss obligations, the court stated that its decision was based solely on the pleadings and attachments. There are two infirmities in the court's ruling.

First, although the testimony and pleadings evinced a genuine dispute over Ironwood's compliance with its postloss obligations, the court failed to resolve that dispute before compelling the parties to appraisal.

In order to make a preliminary determination that there is a disagreement between the insurer and the insured regarding the amount of loss, the trial court must be satisfied of the insured's compliance with the policy's post-loss conditions. Where the insurer reasonably disputes such compliance and raises a question as to the sufficiency of the insured's compliance with post-loss obligations, a question of fact is created that must be resolved by the trial court before compelling appraisal.

United Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Concepcion , 83 So. 3d 908, 910 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (citations omitted).

The parties' insurance contract imposes on Ironwood a postloss obligation to "[f]urnish all other documents or insurance policies that [American Coastal] may reasonably require." In response to Ironwood's claim for damage to the property's windows and doors, American Coastal made several written requests for documents. In particular, American Coastal requested that Ironwood provide:

1) Sworn Proof of Loss; 2) All supporting estimates, invoices, receipts, and contracts for work relating to the subject loss; 3) All documentation received by the Insured from Moisture Intrusion Solutions relating to the subject loss; 4) Association board meeting minutes for the past five years; 5) Association maintenance records for the past five years (2014-2019); 6) Any photographs, videos or otherwise that depict the condition of the property at any time, both prior to and after the date of loss; 7) Any reports, including appraisals, prepared on behalf of the Association; 8) Any engineering, general construction, or expert reports pertaining to the subject loss and the damages being claimed; and 9) Any Certificates of Completion, Certificates of Satisfaction, final invoices, and evidence of paid

...