Miami lawyers who got $16.7M against Florida insurer now want $20M more
"We went in and did this form of alternative dispute resolution, ... and they said, 'We're not paying. We want to present our defenses,’” plaintiff counsel said about Heritage Property and Casualty Co.
A Miami law firm has bad-faith allegations in its sights against a Florida-based insurance company after securing a $16.7 million judgment, which the state’s Third District Court of Appeal upheld after nearly six years of litigation.
The Acle Law Firm obtained the judgment in April for its client, Samari Lakes East Condominium Association Inc., against Heritage Property and Casualty Co., which was the biggest insurance company in Florida at the time of the lawsuit, attorneys said.
The insurer allegedly refused to pay a 2017 hurricane damage claim the Miami Lakes condo association submitted—a move that has now cost it millions, and could lead to further exposure.
“Another $20 million at least is in play,” said condo lawyer Edward Acle, who along with his team is continuing to fight the insurer. “Our client should not be made to pay for Heritage’s actions.”
Acle alleged 635 families in the Samari condo development lived “a complete nightmare” from years of water infiltration after the hurricane.
Read the Condo Association’s Claims
“We are now suing Heritage for bad faith damages sustained by Samari as a result of Heritage failing to pay the damages to Samari until almost six years after Hurricane Irma,” Acle said. “Those damages could exceed the amount paid by Heritage to Samari already, if punitive damages are deemed to be warranted.”
The plaintiffs claimed the insurer was not sufficiently responsive.
“Heritage responded to their concerns by sending I believe it was one adjuster out who walked the property for three days and did a cursory inspection,” Acle said. ”What [plaintiffs] got back was a statement basically saying that they’d only sustain $27,000 worth of damage.”
But in submitting its claim, the condo association listed the damage at $14.2 million.
Acle said under the Heritage policy, clients like Samari have the right to present a contrary estimate, and the two parties agreed to an appraisal process—but the insurer allegedly delayed.
Heritage Property and Casualty Co. spokesperson Melissa Stone said the company and its counsel declined to comment as “there is ongoing litigation concerning the matter.”
‘We want to present our defenses’
Two years after incurring storm damage, the attorneys for the condo association moved to have the court enforce a mutual agreement with the insurance company to finish the appraisal process to come to a settlement.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria De Jesus Santovenia, granted the Acle’s attorneys’ request to force an appraisal.
“Heritage hired experts, and the experts came back and said they don’t have $27,000 worth of condo damage, they have $14.9 million worth of damage,” Acle said. “Obviously a very large discrepancy.”
But Samari attorneys said they spent the next two years litigating “a blanket allegation of fraud,” which Heritage allegedly claimed against the association after denying the claim.
The complaint alleges Heritage attempted to renege on its obligations.
“We went in and did this form of alternative dispute resolution, … and they said, ‘We’re not paying. We want to present our defenses,’” Acle said.
Summary judgment granted
In evaluating this case, Miami attorneys Jeffery Rubenstein and William “Tom” Lohman, who are unconnected to the case, said their firm tries to avoid mandatory arbitration clauses.
“As a litigator, we would much rather have our clients have the right to go to the circuit court, or U.S. District Court if you’re in federal court, and the trial court level and retain your appellate rights that you get in court that you don’t get from arbitration,” Rubenstein said.
Lohman foresaw potentially broad implications.
“From the record that we’ve read from the courts, it appears to us that hopefully, this will put insurance companies’ field adjusters on notice to provide fair and accurate appraisals, because the undisputed record in this case demonstrated that the insurance company’s adjusters’ determination of the amount of damage at issue was more than 500 times less than the actual damages sustained,” Lohman said.
In October 2021, records show Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mark Blumstein, who had taken over the case, ruled on a motion for summary judgment.
“He gave us summary judgment on a fraud case,” Acle said. “This is very rare. This does not happen as typically fraud file goes before a jury,” Acle said.
Heritage Property and Casualty Co. appealed Blumstein’s ruling before an appellate panel, which ruled against it per curiam in March.
“All appeals have been exhausted on the underlying case, and Heritage has paid those amounts due and owing, [but] attorney’s fees are still due and owing,” Acle said.
After the ruling, the insurer petitioned the high court for written opinions, but the jurists denied the request.
The condo association continues to pay what Acle said are yearly premiums in the 6-figure range for coverage with Heritage Property and Casualty Co.
In the complaint filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court alleging bad-faith, the condo association alleges similar delays in at least 18 other files involving the same insurer.
“We look forward to finding out if they were others,” Acle said. ”They had a responsibility under the policy. They had an obligation.”
Click here to read the full complaint
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