Some insurers and their attorneys will do something to keep away from paying protection in any other case owed. The 2-year limitation to finish building within the Ordinance and Legislation protection is one such arbitrary time limitation, and a few insurers and their insurance coverage protection attorneys love to say a technical “win” just because they delayed the matter for thus lengthy that they escape funds in any other case owed.
Empire Indemnity and its attorneys had been profitable on this technique in a current case. 1 The Affiliation defined its predicament in a quick as follows:
Cresthaven’s residents are comprised primarily of aged retirees, who paid Empire handsomely in change for a promise that Empire would pay specified damages within the occasion of a loss. Whereas Empire was more than pleased to simply accept the retirees’ cash, confronted with a coated multi-million-dollar loss, Empire has damaged each its contractual guarantees and people made after loss to each Cresthaven and the courts to keep away from honoring its cut price.
Initially, a mediated settlement resulted in Empire waiving temporal limitations so as facilitate appraisal of the loss. Regardless of this settlement, Empire used waived temporal defenses to increase litigation for years, then dropped these defenses to be able to keep away from trial and safe a dismissal. As soon as the time limitations supplied by Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(e) 1 had (allegedly) run, Empire did an about-face and raised a temporal protection to keep away from making hundreds of thousands of {dollars}’ value of funds now owed to Cresthaven.
In its Reply Transient, Empire all however admits that this was the scheme all alongside. The district courtroom sadly permitted Empire to abuse the federal judicial system on this method….
Empire Indemnity gained as a result of the five-year time restrict to file a lawsuit handed. The policyholder didn’t get an agreed extension to file swimsuit and didn’t file swimsuit within the 5 years. The insurer definitely didn’t pay the total quantity on time, and it definitely gained on a technicality of time, which all policyholders needs to be involved about as quickly as an insurer doesn’t pay in a well timed method.
Technicalities matter, and the appellate courtroom dominated in favor of the insurer:
We agree with the district courtroom. Cresthaven factors to no precise proof, and our cautious evaluate of the report reveals little or no proof, to assist Cresthaven’s bald assertion that Empire by no means meant to think about and modify in good religion Cresthaven’s OLC declare in gentle of the Coverage provisions and the legislation. As famous above, the district courtroom’s adoption of essential coverage provision interpretations proffered by Empire belies any notion that Empire’s positions taken throughout its consideration of Cresthaven’s declare had been something apart from religion analysis of the declare in gentle of the Coverage provisions and the legislation. And, as additionally famous above, Empire’s July 8, 2022, letter in impact invited Cresthaven to finish repairs and submit requests for fee. The truth that Empire did invoke the five-year statute of repose after its expiration merely signifies that Empire meant to train its rights below the Coverage provisions and the legislation, which intention was obvious from the very inception of Cresthaven’s declare. As additionally famous above, Empire’s waiver of two very particular rights will not be a foundation on which to deduce a waiver of all rights.
Good insurance coverage firms pay regardless of technicalities. Brokers and policyholders ought to notice who the insurance coverage firms that they cope with are, together with the attorneys who the insurance coverage firm retains. Policyholders and their brokers ought to keep away from firms like Empire Indemnity as a result of, whereas technically and legally appropriate, who desires to cope with these varieties?
The opposite lesson is to ask for extensions and file lawsuits to guard the time to implement rights. That is particularly essential with the two-year time limitation for legislation and ordinance protection.
Thought For The Day
Targets aren’t sufficient. You want objectives plus deadlines: objectives sufficiently big to get enthusiastic about and deadline to make you run. One isn’t a lot good with out the opposite, however collectively they are often great.
—Zig Ziglar
1 Cresthaven Ashley Grasp Assoc. v. Empire Indem. Ins. Co., No. 23-12761, 2024 WL 3690863 (eleventh Cir. Aug. 7, 2024).