On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County.G.L. Feltel, Jr., Judge.
Chad A. Barr, of Chad Barr Law, Altamonte Springs, forAppellants.
C. Ryan Jones, Brandon R. Christian, David T. Burr, andMatthew A. Taylor, of Traus Lieberman Straus &Shrewsberry LLP, St. Petersburg, for Appellee.
May 29, 2026
HARRIS, J.
Appellants, Ronald and Beth St. Pierre, appeal the trialcourt’s order granting Appellee’s, State Farm Florida InsuranceCompany, motion to dismiss their complaint. The basis for the
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2dismissal was that Appellants failed to comply with the noticerequirementundersection627.70152,FloridaStatutes.Appellants argue the trial court erred in dismissing theircomplaint because section 627.70152 cannot be retroactivelyapplied to a homeowner’s insurance policy issued before thestatute’s enactment. Consistent with Appellants’ argument, thisCourt has previously held that the notice requirement in section627.70152 does not apply retroactively. SeeSmith v. UniversalProp. & Cas. Ins. Co., 396 So. 3d 860 (Fla. 5th DCA 2024). Wetherefore reverse the order dismissing the complaint and remandfor further proceedings.REVERSED and REMANDED.JAY, C.J., and EDWARDS, J., concur._____________________________Not final until disposition of any timely andauthorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or9.331._____________________________
Opinion text and original PDF from Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal · Source opinion