Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. v. Hughes
The Florida Supreme Court resolved an express district conflict and held that section 627.70152's presuit notice requirement for property insurance suits does not apply retroactively to policies issued before the statute's July 1, 2021 effective date. Applying the Menendez two-step test, the Court found no clear legislative command for retroactivity in subsections (1) or (3), and held the statute is substantive when viewed as a whole because it alters the insured's right to sue and the insurer's obligation to pay. The Court approved the Sixth District's decision in Hughes and disapproved the Fourth District's decision in Cole.
Key facts
- Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. appealed a decision in a property insurance suit brought by Hughes under a policy issued before July 1, 2021, regarding whether a statutory presuit notice requirement applied to the claim.
- The trial court and lower appellate courts addressed conflicting interpretations across Florida's district courts about whether section 627.70152's presuit notice requirement, effective July 1, 2021, applied retroactively to policies issued before that date.
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Why it matters
This is a definitive, statewide resolution of a six-district conflict that directly affects thousands of pending and future first-party property insurance suits on pre-July 1, 2021 policies. Policyholder counsel can now… — full analysis with a trial
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