STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY v. CADET (2020)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY, Petitioner, v. Catherine CADET, Respondent.

Case No. 5D19-2291

Decided: February 21, 2020

Robert A. Kingsford, Lynn S. Alfano, and Christopher J. Goodrum, of Alfano Kingsford, P.A., Maitland; Kara Rockenbach Link, and David A. Noel, of Link & Rockenbach, PA, West Palm Beach, for Petitioner. Matthew G. Struble and Christine Skubala, of Struble, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, for Respondent.

In this first-tier certiorari proceeding, State Farm Florida Insurance Company asks this Court to quash the trial court's order, which authorized its insured's public adjuster, who is entitled to a contingency fee from any recovered insurance proceeds, to serve as a “disinterested appraiser” under the insurance contract's alternative dispute resolution provision. We recently addressed this identical issue, determining that an insured's public adjuster could not act as a disinterested appraiser in these circumstances. State Farm Fla. Ins. v. Crispin, 290 So.3d 150, 2020 WL 593345 (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 7, 2020). As such, we quash the trial court's order. See also State Farm Fla. Ins. v. Valenti, 285 So. 3d 958 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019); State Farm Fla. Ins. v. Sanders, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D1901, ––– So.3d ––––, 2019 WL 3309217 (Fla. 3d DCA July 24, 2019); Fla. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Branco, 148 So. 3d 488, 490 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014).

CERTIORARI GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED.

PER CURIAM.

ORFINGER, COHEN and EDWARDS, JJ., concur.

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