Florida Middle District Holds Homeowners Limited to ACV Damages as No Repairs Were Completed at Time of Suit
By Kelly M. Vogt
In LeMon v. Hartford Ins. Co. of the Midwest, No. 2:23-cv-01140-JLB-NPM, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121144 (M.D. Fla. June 26, 2025), the plaintiffs filed suit after their insurer allegedly underpaid a claim stemming from Hurricane Ian damage. Hartford initially issued a payment based on its adjuster’s $2,049.14 estimate, while the plaintiffs later submitted a $44,932 roof replacement proposal and additional estimates factoring in matching, code compliance and pre-existing conditions. The insurer contested the scope of damage and maintained that only actual cash value (ACV), not replacement cost value (RCV), was owed under the policy at that stage.
The court granted summary judgment in part, finding that the plaintiffs were not entitled to RCV or matching costs, ordinance or law expenses, or payment for pre-existing damages. Importantly, the plaintiffs had not performed repairs or incurred expenses sought before filing suit. The court emphasized that under Florida law and the terms of the policy, coverage was limited to direct physical loss, there is no RCV payment owed absent actual replacement, and ordinance and law is only owed where incurred before filing an action.
However, the court denied summary judgment on the broader issue of roof damage, concluding there was a genuine dispute of material fact as to the scope of physical loss caused by the storm. While the plaintiffs could not recover amounts exceeding ACV, they could still pursue recovery for disputed physical damage proven at trial.
Kelly M. Vogt