Nunez v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co.
An insured who never appeared for a requested EUO and never attempted to reschedule sued for breach of her homeowner's policy and won a jury verdict under instructions requiring the insurer to prove her failure was 'unreasonable.' A successor judge directed a verdict that she materially breached the EUO condition and ordered a new trial on prejudice under Estrada. The Third DCA affirmed, holding that total non-compliance with an EUO is a material breach as a matter of law, that the 'reasonableness' of the insurer's EUO request was legally irrelevant, and that the insured bears the burden of showing lack of prejudice.
Key facts
- Insured failed to appear for a requested Examination Under Oath (EUO) and did not attempt to reschedule or provide any justification for non-compliance.
- At trial, jury found in favor of insured under instructions requiring insurer to prove insured's failure was 'unreasonable'; successor judge directed verdict that insured materially breached the EUO condition and ordered new trial on prejudice.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces and applies Estrada's burden-shifting framework for post-loss obligation defenses in first-party property cases, and importantly rejects the argument that an insurer's EUO demand must itself be… — full analysis with a trial
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