Florida Third District Court of Appeal Rules Trial Court Order Compelling Appraisal Violated Policy and Due Process
By Kelly M. Vogt
On March 27, 2024, in Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Angus Murray, No. 3D23-0256, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed a trial court’s nonfinal order granting an insured’s ore tenus motion to compel appraisal and to stay the action pending the completion of the appraisal process.
The parties were before the trial court pursuant to an Order to Report for Trial. During the pretrial hearing, the insured’s counsel made an ore tenus motion to compel appraisal without prior notice to the insurer. Despite the insurer’s objection, the trial court granted the insured’s motion.
The insurer appealed the order, contending that the trial court erred in granting the insured’s ore tenus motion to compel, as the subject policy required that both parties must agree to appraisal. The Third DCA agreed. In addition, the Third DCA held that the insurer was deprived of its due process rights when the court addressed and granted the ore tenus motion.
The Third DCA reversed and remanded the order accordingly.
Kelly M. Vogt