Taylor v. State Farm Florida Insurance Co.
After a water-damage appraisal award was paid without interest, the insured sued State Farm for breach of the policy's loss-payment provision and under section 627.70131(5)(a), Florida Statutes (2020). The trial court dismissed both counts with prejudice based on the statute's bar on the statutory violation forming 'the sole basis for a private cause of action.' The Fifth DCA reversed as to the contract claim, holding the statutory limitation does not bar a breach-of-contract action premised on a policy's independent, express promise to pay interest.
Key facts
- Insured Taylor sought recovery from State Farm Florida Insurance Co. for unpaid interest on a water-damage appraisal award that was paid without interest.
- Taylor sued for breach of the insurance policy's loss-payment provision and for violation of Florida Statutes section 627.70131(5)(a), which governs interest on insurance claims.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is the first Florida DCA decision squarely holding that section 627.70131(5)(a)'s no-private-cause-of-action clause (now (7)(a)) does not bar a true breach-of-contract claim for unpaid claim interest where the… — 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.