The Fourth District Court of Appeal Recently Affirmed Lower Court Decision

For your reference, the Fourth District Court of Appeal recently affirmed (per curiam) the trial court’s final summary judgement in favor of the insurer, under case number 4D14-4585. The trial court held that the contractor’s Assignment of Benefits is invalid in One Call Property Services, Inc. A/A/O Carl Schlanger v. St. Johns Insurance Company., 2014 WL 7496474 (Fla. 19th Cir. Ct. Nov. 20,2014).

The trial court granted final summary judgement in favor of the insurer based on the following:

1. The Assignment of Benefits impermissibly sought to divest the homeowners of constitutionally protected proceeds, and therefore, the AOB is invalid.
2. The AOB was not signed by all of the named insureds.
3. The AOB was invalid and void as a matter of law, and Plaintiff lacks standing to maintain lawsuit.

Click here to review the case.

If you have any questions concerning this topic, please contact Ursula C. Cogswell.