Supreme Court of Florida

In a third-party bad-faith action against an insurance company, arising from the death of plaintiff's husband at his workplace, the court finds that, based on the facts of this case, the insurer's actions did not cause the employer to sustain the claimed damages of $4 million or to be exposed to liability in excess of its policy limits. Neither caused the damages claimed by the insured nor resulted in exposure of the insured to liability in excess of the policy limits of the insureds' policies, and as such, plaintiff, as her husband's employer's assignee, is not entitled to recover the unpaid portion of the consent judgment

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/06/2010
• Published 05/06/2010

Judges

• PARIENTE, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Charles P. Schropp and Charles M. Schropp of Schropp Law Firm, P.A., Tampa, Florida, and Dennis G. Diecidue of The Diecidue Law Firm, P.A., Tampa, Florida, for Appellant., Mark Hicks, Dinah Stein, and Brett C. Powell of Hicks, Porter, Ebenfeld and Stein, P.A., Miami, Florida, on behalf of Florida Insurance Council; George N. Meros, Jr. and Andy Bardos of GrayRobinson, P.A., Tallahassee, Florida, and Robin S. Conrad, Washington, D.C., on behalf of Florida Justice Reform Institute and Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America; and William D. Horgan of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood and Boyer, P.A., Tallahassee, Florida, and Laura A. Foggan of Wiley, Rein and Fielding, LLP, Washington, D.C., on behalf of American Insurance Association and Complex Insurance Claims Litigation Association, as Amici Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jack R. Reiter and Jordan S. Kosches of Adorno and Yoss, LLP, Miami, Florida, for Appellee.