Alvarez v. Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
In a first-party homeowners' property suit against Citizens, the trial court struck the insureds' pleadings and dismissed the case because one of three co-insured plaintiffs failed to physically appear at court-ordered mediation. The Third District reversed, holding that where two of three plaintiffs complied (one in person, one telephonically by stipulation) and settlement authority had been delegated to counsel, the infraction did not warrant the ultimate sanction of dismissal when lesser, rule-based monetary sanctions under Rule 1.720(f) were available.
Key facts
- Homeowners sued Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in a first-party property damage claim; one of three co-insured plaintiffs failed to physically appear at court-ordered mediation, though the other two appeared in person and telephonically.
- The trial court struck the insureds' pleadings and dismissed the case as a sanction for the one plaintiff's failure to attend mediation.
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Why it matters
Practitioners defending against litigation-ending sanctions for mediation noncompliance can cite this opinion for the proposition that Rule 1.720(f) monetary sanctions are the presumptive remedy and dismissal is… — full analysis with a trial
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