In a decision that serves as a reminder of the technicalities in Florida insurance law, an appeals court has overturned a legal victory for a Palm Beach County homeowner. Despite a jury finding that Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company breached its contract, the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday that the entire case must be dismissed because the homeowner failed to file a specific piece of paperwork before suing.
The dispute began back in late 2020 when Jada Griffin discovered water gushing from her dining room floor tiles. While Griffin took immediate steps to stop the leak and later submitted a formal claim, the relationship with her insurer quickly soured.
Universal initially denied the claim, citing a failure to provide necessary documents—though records show the company originally sent those requests to the wrong email address.
After a trial, a jury sided with Griffin, awarding her $50,000 for the water damage. They even found that while Griffin might have missed some post-loss obligations, the insurance company wasn’t actually harmed by those delays. However, that victory was short-lived.
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The legal “gotcha” centers on a Florida statute passed in 2021. The law requires homeowners to give the state a formal 10-day “intent to initiate litigation” notice before filing a lawsuit against an insurer. Griffin’s legal team argued that since her policy was bought and expired before this law even existed, she shouldn’t have been required to follow it.
The appeals court disagreed. Pointing to a legal precedent known as the Cole decision, the judges ruled that this notice requirement applies retroactively. In simple terms, even if your pipe burst before the law was written, you still have to follow the new rules if you file your lawsuit after the law went into effect.
Because Griffin never filed that specific pre-suit notice, the court ruled the trial judge should have dismissed the case from the start. The $50,000 verdict has been vacated, and the case is being sent back to the lower court to be dismissed “without prejudice.”
This means Griffin may be able to refile her claim, but she’ll have to start the expensive legal process all over again—this time, starting with the right notice.
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