FLORIDA INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION v. VALDEZ (2020)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

FLORIDA INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. Jose VALDEZ and Carmen Valdez, Appellees.

Case No. 2D18-3789

Decided: March 25, 2020

Dorothy V. Difiore and Karen S. Shimonsky of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, Tampa, for Appellant. George A. Vaka and Kurt J. Rosales of Vaka Law Group, P.A., Tampa, for Appellees.

Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) appeals an order awarding Jose and Carmen Valdez attorney's fees and costs in their action arising from a sinkhole claim.¹ In the recent decision of Heid v. Florida Insurance Guaranty Ass'n, No. 2D18-737, 311 So.3d 94 (Fla. 2d DCA Mar. 6, 2020), this court held that the specific language of section 631.54(3)(c), Florida Statutes (2012), precludes an award of attorney's fees in connection with a claim for sinkhole damage involving FIGA. Id. at 98. Accordingly, we reverse. As in Heid, we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court as a matter of great public importance:

DOES THE LANGUAGE IN SECTION 631.54(3)(c) REGARDING ATTORNEY'S FEES IN CONNECTION WITH A SINKHOLE LOSS OPERATE TO PREVENT A SINKHOLE CLAIMANT FROM RECEIVING FEES FROM FIGA UNDER SECTION 631.70?

See id. at 99.

Reversed; question certified.

FOOTNOTES

1. FIGA does not challenge the trial court's award of costs to the Valdezes.

KELLY, Judge.

MORRIS and BADALAMENTI, JJ., Concur.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network