Notable Cases

2022: APEX ROOFING AND RESTORATION, LLC a/a/o James Derrick, Appellant,v.STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellee 343 So.3d 1223District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District In the case of Apex Roofing and Restoration, LLC v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, Apex appealed a final judgment in favor of State Farm regarding a first-party bad faith claim. The dispute arose after Apex, as the assignee of policy benefits from the homeowner, alleged that State Farm had underpaid a claim for roof damage caused by wind and hail. After Apex submitted an estimate exceeding the amounts State Farm had previously paid, Apex filed a Civil Remedy Notice (CRN) accusing State Farm of bad faith handling of the claim. State Farm did not make any further payments during the statutory 60-day cure period but invoked the appraisal process, which eventually resulted in an additional payment. The trial court granted summary judgment for State Farm on two grounds: It found that the 60-day cure period was “tolled” when State Farm invoked the appraisal process, and State Farm’s payment of the appraisal award within that period cured any bad faith claim. The court also concluded that Apex’s CRN did not meet the statutory requirement to state the facts and circumstances of the alleged violation with sufficient specificity. Our firm appealed the trial court’s decision and on appeal, the court reversed the trial court’s decision on both grounds. First, the appellate court held that invoking the appraisal process does not toll the 60-day cure period under the statute. Second, the court found that Apex’s CRN, which detailed how State Farm had provided lowball estimates and delayed the process, met the statutory specificity requirements. As a result, the final summary judgment in favor of State Farm was reversed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings.