Clausen Miller Secures Dismissal in Southern District Court of Florida
Clausen Miller attorney Irene Thaler secured a motion to dismiss and a motion to strike improper prayer for statutory fees for her client Lexington Insurance Company in the Southern District Court of Florida.
In Villamar v. Lexington Insurance Company, Lexington invoked appraisal during the claim investigation and while the plaintiff initially participated, she stopped participating and served Lexington with a lawsuit.
In response, Irene argued that the plaintiff failed to comply with the appraisal process, which served as a condition precedent to filing suit for recovery under the policy. She also argued that the plaintiff was not entitled to attorney’s fees as the complaint was filed prematurely and solely to trigger recovery of fees. Conversely, the plaintiff stated the action was not subject to the appraisal process because Lexington denied coverage for roof damage, even though it paid for interior damages.
The court agreed with Irene in that coverage was not wholly denied and Lexington’s partial payment for interior damages subjected the plaintiff’s claims to appraisal.
The judge noted the action was within the scope of appraisal because “when there is a covered loss, but a disagreement on the amount of loss, it is for the appraisers to arrive at the amount to be paid.” Lastly, the judge ruled that, because the plaintiff’s complaint was filed prematurely, she was not entitled to recovery of any attorney’s fees.
Irene Thaler concentrates her practice in coverage, bad faith litigation, and first-party property defense litigation. She assists admitted and surplus line insurers in all aspects of coverage disputes, including pre-suit investigations and coverage evaluations, declaratory judgment actions and bad faith litigation.