Jennifer Noud-Duarte of MMP&S’s Boca Raton office prevailed on a summary judgment motion in a breach of contract action involving a water leak. Judge Elijah A. Levitt in the County Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County adopted our position that Defendant did not breach the insurance policy due to Plaintiff’s failure to comply with Section 627.7152 of the Florida Statutes. Judge Levitt agreed that there was not a valid assignment of benefits contract due to Plaintiff’s failure: 1) to have its assignment of benefits contract executed by both assignor and assignee; and 2) to provide a notice of intent to initiate litigation to Defendant before filing suit. The judge rejected Plaintiff’s Menendez argument that Section 627.7152 of the Florida Statutes cannot retroactively apply to a contract already in existence. We argued that the insurer and insureds could not be compelled by an ex post facto law to meet obligations beyond what they originally agreed. Plaintiff was not an original party to the contract between Defendant and the Insureds, and assuming arguendo Plaintiff had standing, Plaintiff had no rights until after the effective date of the statute. Judge Levitt deemed Plaintiff’s assignment of benefits agreement invalid and unenforceable, and Defendant was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Practice Areas: