For many years, some insurers have argued that Florida policyholders cannot bring statutory “bad faith” actions if the parties participate in the appraisal process. In essence, these insurers argued that there must be a finding of a breach of contract in an underlying action for an extra contractual action to proceed.

Numerous federal judges in Florida have rejected this argument, however until this week there were no Florida state court appellate opinions directly on point.Continue Reading Florida 4th DCA Rules Bad Faith Action Can Proceed After Appraisal

I wanted to continue a discussion that Jeremy Tyler initiated last week in his blog post, Mandatory Arbitration for Disputes Between Unit Owners and Condominium Associations. Jeremy introduced a recent case, Gomez v. Lakes of Carriage Hills Condo. Assoc., Inc., — So. 3d —, 35 Fla. L. Weekly D1822 (4th DCA August 11, 2010), which concerned the question of whether claims brought by unit owners against the association and various members of its board of directors must first be pursued through non-binding arbitration.  Jeremy’s post also presented an excellent analysis of certain “disputes” that by Florida Statute §718.1255 must first be submitted to non-binding arbitration before a lawsuit may be filed.Continue Reading Arbitration for Certain Disputes Between Unit Owners and Condominium Associations Is Not Mandatory

What happens when condominium unit owners disagree with their condominium association? According to Fla. Stat. § 718.1255(4)(a), disputes between unit owners and associations must first be submitted to non-binding arbitration before a lawsuit may be filed. That does not mean that all issues between unit owners and associations must first go through arbitration. Only “disputes” require arbitration before a lawsuit may be filed.Continue Reading Mandatory Arbitration for Disputes Between Unit Owners and Condominium Associations