Appellate Win Affirming Final Judgment in Property Damage Case
November 15, 2024 by boydjenerette on News
Lara Edelstein recently defended a Final Summary Judgment on appeal in a first-party property case. The insured’s property sustained damages allegedly caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017. However, the claim was not reported to the carrier until June of 2020 after numerous repairs were completed. The carrier denied the claim based on prejudice resulting from late notice of the claim. A company that repaired the property filed suit as an assignee of the insured. The carrier moved for summary judgment arguing that it was prejudiced by the late notice. The trial court agreed with the carrier and entered summary judgment because the plaintiff’s affidavit in opposition to the motion was conclusory and contradicted the insured’s statements regarding the status of the property. The trial court also denied the plaintiff’s motion for rehearing.
On appeal, the Appellant argued that the trial court erred because there was record evidence that the Insured did not immediately discover the damage and arguably gave prompt notice upon being informed by professionals that he needed a roof replacement. The Appellant claimed that there were genuine issues of fact as to whether the carrier was prejudiced based on an allegedly inadequate investigation and that the Appellant’s expert was able to find evidence of wind damage. It also argued that the motion for rehearing should have been granted.
The Second District Court rejected the Appellant’s arguments and issued a decision affirming the final judgment without a written opinion.
About Lara J. Edelstein
Lara J. Edelstein is a partner with the firm’s Appellate Practice department based in the Boca Raton office. Ms. Edelstein has extensive experience in appellate law, having argued hundreds of cases in the appellate courts throughout Florida, including the Supreme Court of Florida. Ms. Edelstein is also admitted to practice law in Georgia, where she has handled several appeals.
Lara began her career as an Assistant Attorney General representing the State of Florida in criminal appellate proceedings. Ms. Edelstein also spent ten years as in-house appellate counsel to an automobile insurer where she handled No Fault/Personal Injury Protection appeals and provided litigation support to the staff attorneys. Lara also has experience in first party property cases, bad faith litigation, personal injury and premises liability matters, as well as Workers’ Compensation appeals.