June 28, 2022

Jake Huxtable Obtains Non-Binding Arbitration Victory & Favorable Order

Non-Binding Arbitration Victory 

Kelley Kronenberg’s Partner and Business Unit Leader, Jake D. Huxtable, successfully obtained a non-binding arbitration victory on behalf of Frontline Insurance in an assignment of benefits (“AOB”) suit over the Hurricane Irma claim. 

Plaintiff, as the alleged assignee of the homeowner/insured, sued Frontline for breach of the insurance policy contract for refusal to pay benefits in accordance with the Plaintiff’s repair estimate. Although the insurance claim had been withdrawn by the homeowner/insured, Plaintiff, as the alleged assignee of the homeowner/insured nonetheless went on to file a suit against Frontline in 2021 over the withdrawn insurance claim. Attached to the Complaint was an estimate from Plaintiff’s public adjuster for $138,074.89 RCV. 

The arbitrator found that there was no competent evidence from Plaintiff to meet its burden of proof that Frontline had breached the insurance policy contract by failing to pay for a claim that had been withdrawn by the homeowner/insured, and Frontline was found as the prevailing party. 

Favorable Order 

Kelley Kronenberg’s Partner and Business Unit Leader, Jake D. Huxtable, successfully obtained a favorable order on behalf of Frontline Insurance in an assignment of benefits (“AOB”) suit over the Hurricane Irma claim. 

Plaintiff claimed to be the assignee of the homeowners following a purported AOB. The court, in the motion for reconsideration, found that the AOB did not “contain,” the itemized cost estimate of the services to be performed by the assignee and violated subsections 627.7152(2)(a)(1) & (4), Fla. Stat. (2019). The “estimate” attached was a separate document, not “contained” within the AOB, and was not created by Plaintiff’s company.  

Additionally, the AOB also violated subsection 627.7152(2)(a)(2), Fla. Stat. (2019) because it did not contain a provision that allowed the assignor to rescind the AOB agreement without penalty or fee “by submitting written notice of rescission signed by the assignor to the assignee,” and thus the AOB was held to be an invalid, unenforceable, and void under Florida law.  

The court vacated the prior order that had previously denied Frontline’s motion to dismiss and granted Frontline’s motion for reconsideration and to vacate, and entered a new, final order dismissing the case with prejudice and entering final judgment in favor of Frontline.