Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal Reverses Ruling and Remands for Summary Judgment for Insurer in Breach-of-Contract Dispute
By Paris T. Baker
In Citizens v. Black Diamond Funding Ventures, LLC, 51 Fla. L. Weekly D 1124 (4th DCA 2026), the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a final judgment and remanded for entry of a summary judgment on behalf of the insurer. The insurer issued a homeowner’s policy, and the homeowner executed a written assignment of its benefits to Quality Assessments & Logistics (“QAL”). Through a written agreement, QAL transferred its right to payment for services performed to Black Diamond (“assignee”). The assignee filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the insurer after failing to receive payment for services, relying on the assignment from QAL.
On appeal, the Fourth District Court of Appeal addressed whether Florida Statute Section 627.7152 regulates the initial insured-to-contractor assignment as well as subsequent transfers of post-loss benefits. In answering in the affirmative, the Court held that if the assignment agreement is non-compliant with statutory requirements, that renders the transferee without standing to sue the insurer. The Court reasoned that the legislature chose expansive language in defining “assignment agreement,” including the words, “any instrument” by which benefits are “acquired in any manner” to or from a person providing services. The Court further acknowledged that certain statutory requirements may fit imperfectly in the context of a downstream financial entity, but that does not permit narrowing the statutory definition where the entity has benefits.
Accordingly, without standing, the case was reversed and remanded for entry of summary judgment on behalf of the insurer.
Paris T. Baker