Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Griffin
After a jury verdict for the insured in a first-party water-damage case, the Fourth DCA reversed because the insured never gave the pre-suit notice of intent to initiate litigation required by section 627.70152, Florida Statutes. Extending Cole v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., the court held the statute's retroactive application is not limited to policies still in force on the July 1, 2021 effective date — it also reaches policies whose terms expired before that date, so long as suit was filed afterward. The case was remanded for dismissal of the complaint without prejudice notwithstanding a full trial and judgment.
Key facts
- Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. insured Griffin's property; Griffin suffered water damage and filed suit for benefits without providing pre-suit notice of intent to initiate litigation as required by section 627.70152, Florida Statutes.
- The trial court denied the insurer's motion to dismiss based on the missing pre-suit notice and allowed the case to proceed to trial, where a jury returned a verdict in favor of the insured.
- +1 more key fact with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision extends Cole's retroactivity holding to policies that had already expired before section 627.70152's effective date, closing a distinction insureds had been pressing, and confirms that a timely-preserved… — full analysis with a trial
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