Diocese of Saint Petersburg, Inc. v. Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, CASE NO: 8:17-CV-886-T-30AEP
Decision Date | 10 May 2017 |
Docket Number | CASE NO: 8:17-CV-886-T-30AEP |
Parties | DIOCESE OF SAINT PETERSBURG, INC., Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PA., Defendant. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Count II (Dkt. 5) and Plaintiff's Response in Opposition (Dkt. 10). The Court, having reviewed the motion, response, and being otherwise advised in the premises, concludes that the motion should be denied.
Plaintiff Diocese of Saint Petersburg, Inc. filed the instant action against Defendant National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. to collect on a default judgment Plaintiff obtained against Defendant's insured, Unisource Administrators, Inc. Plaintiff is a religious organization that oversees the activities of hundreds of religiously-affiliated organizations, including schools and churches. One of Plaintiff's responsibilities in overseeing these organizations is to ensure that each organization is properly insured for workers' compensation. Plaintiff contracted with Unisource to perform claims adjusting of all of Plaintiff's workers' compensation claims. Unisource's responsibilities included coordinating coverage with Plaintiff's excess carrier for workers' compensation claims in excess of Plaintiff's self-insured retention level of $250,000. At all material times, Defendant provided "Miscellaneous Professional Liability" insurance coverage to Unisource and Plaintiff was the Certificate Holder.
Plaintiff alleges that Unisource breached its obligation to notify Plaintiff's excess carrier of a workers' compensation claim filed by Randi Fisher, a former employee of Plaintiff. In 2015, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Unisource in state court for damages Plaintiff incurred as a result of Unisource's breach of contract and negligence associated with Fisher's claim. Because Defendant was Unisource's insurer during the relevant time, Plaintiff notified Defendant on several occasions of its claim against Unisource. Plaintiff also repeatedly requested that Defendant provide it with a copy of the insurance policy and other information required by Florida Statute § 627.4137.1 Defendant never responded to any of Plaintiff's correspondence.
On January 5, 2017, Plaintiff obtained a Final Judgment after Default against Unisource in the amount of $388,510.70. Plaintiff then filed this action against Defendant, asserting two claims: (1) a breach of contract claim and (2) a claim of "violation of Florida statute § 627.4137." Defendant moves to dismiss only the claim asserted under § 627.4137 for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.Defendant argues that Florida does not recognize a private cause of action for a violation of this particular section. At this stage, the Court disagrees and concludes that Plaintiff may proceed with this claim.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) allows a complaint to be dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. When reviewing a motion to dismiss, a court must accept all factual allegations contained in the complaint as true, and view the facts in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93-94 (2007). However, unlike factual allegations, conclusions in a pleading "are not entitled to the assumption of truth." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009). On the contrary, legal conclusions "must be supported by factual allegations." Id. Indeed, "conclusory allegations, unwarranted factual deductions or legal conclusions masquerading as facts will not prevent dismissal." Davila v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 326 F.3d 1183, 1185 (11th Cir. 2003).
Defendant's motion to dismiss seeks to dismiss Plaintiff's claim for violation of Fla. Stat. § 627.4137 based on the premise that such a private right of action does not exist under Florida law. Under § 627.4137, which is titled "Disclosure of certain information required":
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant repeatedly failed and refused to comply with § 627.4137. Plaintiff also alleges that, "[t]o the extent [Defendant] has any coverage defenses to [Plaintiff's] claim against Unisource, those defenses must be deemed waived as a result of [Defendant's] failure to comply with Florida law." (Dkt. 2 at ¶ 42).
Although there is a dearth of relevant case law on point, the Court concludes that such a claim may be viable when the third-party claimant has obtained a final judgment against the insured (as Plaintiff has here) and the insurance company's violation of § 627.4137 damages the third-party claimant. Florida law supports the Court's conclusion. See Lucente v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 591 So. 2d 1126, 1128 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). In Lucente, the court denied Lucente's claim against State Farm for violation of § 627.7264 ( ) because Lucente had not yet obtained ajudgment against State Farm's insured. But the court recognized that a private cause of action under § 627.7264 may exist.Specifically, the court stated: "Lucente can only bring an action against State Farm for failing to comply with section 627.7264 after he obtains a judgment against the insured of State Farm." Id. Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeals has also suggested that Lucente recognized a private right of action for an insurer's failure to provide the insurance information. See Poteate v. Juliano, 960 So. 2d 792, 793 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) ( ...
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