FSC Issues Important First-Party Bad Faith Decision!

The Supreme Rulers of Tally have issued a very interesting opinion on bad faith actions in the first-party insurance context, with a lengthy and well-written history of the doctrine and its development in Florida.

The Court finds that there is no independent cause of action for breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing outside the statutory framework:

Specifically, we conclude that under Florida law (1) first-party claims are actually statutory bad-faith claims that must be brought under section 624.155 of the Florida Statutes; (2) an insured cannot bring a claim against an insurer for failure to comply with the language and type-size requirements established by section 627.701(4)(a) of the Florida Statutes; (3) an insurer‟s failure to comply with the language and type-size requirements established in section 627.701(4)(a) does not render a noncompliant hurricane deductible provision in an insurance policy void and unenforceable as the Legislature has not provided for this penalty; and (4) a contractual provision mandating payment of benefits upon “entry of a final judgment” does not waive the insurer‟s procedural right to post a bond and stay the execution of a money judgment pending resolution of appeal.

Congrats Raoul!