American Coastal Insurance Co. v. San Marco Villas Condominium Ass'n, Inc.
Resolving certified conflict between the Second and Fourth DCAs, the Florida Supreme Court held that a trial court is not required to resolve coverage issues before compelling appraisal of an insured's loss. Where the policy contains a retained-rights provision allowing the insurer to deny the claim even after appraisal, and no policy term dictates timing, the trial court has discretion to sequence coverage and amount-of-loss determinations. The Court approved the Second District's affirmance of an order compelling appraisal despite the insurer's pending fraud/material-misrepresentation coverage defense.
Key facts
- American Coastal Insurance Co. sought to resolve a coverage dispute based on alleged fraud and material misrepresentation by San Marco Villas Condominium Association before proceeding to appraisal of the insured's property loss.
- The trial court compelled appraisal despite the insurer's pending coverage defense, and the Second District affirmed that order.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is a major first-party property insurance decision resolving a longstanding DCA split on appraisal sequencing. Insureds can now move to compel appraisal even while an insurer presses coverage defenses (including… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.