Kelley Kronenberg Partner/Business Unit Leader Daniel Montgomery and Partner Scott McCloskey secured summary judgment on behalf of First Protective Insurance Company (Frontline), in a fully denied roof claim filed in Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit.  

The plaintiffs filed a breach of contract action alleging wind and hail damage to their roof on April 27, 2023. The insurer denied the claim after its investigation found no wind or hail damage consistent with the reported date of loss. During litigation, the defense retained a second engineer whose report found no wind event on the reported date of loss and concluded that while some shingles showed damage consistent with wind damage, it was not a result of weather on the date of loss date of loss. The policy also excluded coverage for wear and tear, deterioration and defective materials and maintenance.  

Scott and Daniel filed a motion for summary judgment on causation, strategically designed to force the plaintiff’s hand on expert evidence. The plaintiff filed a timely response but attached no reports, affidavits, or supporting evidence of any kind. With only the defense engineer report before the Court. The Judge found no genuine dispute of material fact and granted summary judgment in the insurer’s favor.  

The win carried significance beyond the face value of the claim. The case pre-dated SB2A so there was exposure of one-way attorney’s fees, and carried an expired civil remedy notice, meaning the actual risk to the insurer substantially exceeded the estimated damages. First Protective is now able to seek attorney’s fees based on an expired proposal for settlement.   

Learn more about the firm’s First-Party Property and Coverage Division: click here. 

Read our First-Party Property newsletter: https://www.kelleykronenberg.com/category/newsletter/