Florida Second District Court of Appeal Upholds Summary Judgment in Water Damage Coverage Lawsuit
By Kelly M. Vogt
On June 7, 2024, in Synergy Contracting Group, Inc. v. People’s Trust Ins. Co., the Florida Second District Court of Appeal upheld a summary judgment ruling in favor of People’s Trust in a breach of contract claim for water damage coverage which found that a preferred contract endorsement in the policy required the insured to notify People’s Trust before commencing repairs so that the insurer could use its own contractor to make the repairs at a reduced, flat-fee rate.
The Shuttleworth family acquired a home insurance policy from People’s Trust, which provided coverage for any losses to their property as well as the required repairs to safeguard it from further damage. The policy required the Shuttleworth’s to notify People’s Trust before initiating covered repairs so the insurer could hire Rapid Response Team to make the repairs at a $2,000 flat rate. When the Shuttleworth’s suffered water damage to their Florida home, they contracted Synergy for remediation and repair to the property. Synergy then invoiced People’s Trust $5,000 for water mitigation services.
The appellate court affirmed summary judgment, agreeing that the Shuttleworth’s breached the plain language of the policy’s endorsement, and People’s Trust properly limited recovery for repairs to $2,000.
Kelly M. Vogt