There is a raging legal debate about whether the new Florida statute requiring pre-suit notice is to be applied retroactively. Interestingly, just to be safe, we filed a pre-suit notice and the insurance company, Castel Key, responded by indicating that the statute does not have retroactive application:
Castle Key Indemnity Company is in receipt of a written Notice of Intent to initiate litigation (notice number 15305) pursuant to Florida Statute, Section 627.70152(3). The notice was received from the Department of Financial Services on November 29, 2021. Castle Key Indemnity Company believes that the notice requirement in the statute will apply only to insurance policies issued or renewed on or after the effective date of the statute which is July 1, 2021. The policy in the referenced claim was issued on May 15, 2020.
We noted another insurance company that agrees with this in Citizens Agrees That Florida’s New Pre-Suit Notice Requirements Does Not Apply to Policies Issued Before the Effective Date of the Statute.
Not all insurance companies agree. An excellent appellate attorney, Tom Elligett, recently filed an appellate brief where these issues were discussed in detail. The brief noted the basic argument:
There is no evidence the legislature intended §627.70152 to apply retroactively. The statute is clear. The substantive nature of §627.70152, is readily evidenced by Security First’s own position in this litigation. Because Security First raised no other ground for dismissal, it implicitly recognizes that, absent application of §627.70152, Peyton’s lawsuit should not be dismissed (and the insurds can seek attorneys’ fees to which they had a right when the policy was issued).
As this issue now winds through the appellate courts, we will keep readers apprised of developments.
Thought For The Day
Epitaph, n. An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect.
—Ambrose Bierce