The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that a suit limitation provision in a homeowner's insurance policy barred an action filed by a contractor, as the assignee of the insureds, against the insurer.
|The case
After Larry and Nancy Mitchell discovered that raccoons had taken up residence in the attic and crawl space of their home in Savannah, Ga., they contracted with A+ Restorations, Inc. (A Plus) to remedy the situation. In exchange for repair and restoration work on their home, the Mitchells assigned A Plus certain rights under the homeowner's insurance policy they had acquired from Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, including the right to collect benefits for the services performed by A Plus directly from Liberty, as well as “all rights to proceed against the insurance company obligated to provide such benefits, including, but not limited to, initiating legal suit to enforce such payments.”
When the work was completed, A Plus tendered invoices to Liberty for the materials and services provided on the project. Liberty remitted a portion of the claim, but refused to reimburse A Plus for the full amount, leaving $98,794.79 unpaid.
A Plus submitted a final demand seeking payment of the full amount, but Liberty declined.
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