Clausen Miller P.C.

Jonathan Wickham analyzes a Florida Third District Court of Appeal coverage case affirming summary judgment in favor of the insurer. The Court held that Florida’s Claims Administration Statute was inapplicable to a claim when the insuring agreement was never triggered.

Erin K. Rutherford discusses the Texas legislature’s creation of two new courts, the Texas Business Court and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, which began hearing cases on September 1st. With the Texas Business Court, Texas became the 30th state to establish some form of specialized business court.

Don Sampen analyzes a First District Appellate Court decision affirming that an insurer covering its insured’s garage operations had a duty to defend and indemnify the insured for an indemnity payment the insured made to its customer that settled a tort claim involving an intentional battery. The court held that coverage for a claim of negligent hiring by an insured employer is not negated by the intentional nature of a tort committed by an employee of the insured.

Kelly Vogt analyzes a Florida Third District Court of Appeal decision quashing the trial court's order denying an insurer’s motion to dismiss for failure to comply with the pre-suit requirements of § 627.70152.

Douglas Cohen analyzes a Florida Second District Court of Appeal property case holding that the pre-suit notice requirement in Fla. Stat. Section 627.70152 is a substantive statutory change that cannot apply to a claim brought under an insurance policy purchased before the statute’s enactment. Siding with the Sixth District, the Second District found that there is no clear legislative intent or language for section 627.70152 to apply retroactively to policies entered before it was enacted.

Zachary D. Sonenblum analyzes a Southern District of Florida coverage case in which the court granted summary judgment to the insurer, denying coverage for roof damage. The policy states that any loss or damage would only be assessed according to its replacement cost value, and the insured failed to provide evidence that they performed any permanent repairs.

Kelly Vogt analyzes a Florida Middle District first party property case in which the court granted partial summary judgment to the insurer. The court concluded, in part, that certain coverage limits were appropriately applied to portions of an appraisal award, but genuine issues of material fact existed over whether wind or water caused interior damage.

Don Sampen analyzes a 7th Circuit coverage case affirming that a homeowner in foreclosure lacks sufficient insurable interest to claim full replacement value for fire damage after the redemption period expired, despite continuing to hold legal title.

Melinda Kollross analyzes a California Supreme Court coverage case unanimously rejecting a lower court ruling that a promise of coverage under a virus endorsement provides coverage for COVID-19-related losses and concluding that the endorsement was unambiguous and only provided virus-related coverage if the virus resulted from certain specified causes of loss.

Clausen Miller is honored to announce that Dennis Fitzpatrick, Amy Paulus, Sava Alexander Vojcanin, Andrew Turkish, Irene Thaler, Charles Deutsch and Marisa Michaelsen have been named to the Best Lawyers 2025 list. The Best Lawyers in America? recognizes the top legal professionals in the nation based on rankings by their peers.