In the case of Somethings Fishy Enter's, Inc. v. Atlantic Cas. Ins. Co., Case No. 18-23990-CIV-GOODMAN {CONSENT CASE], ___ F. Supp. 3d ___, 2019 WL 5866823 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 8, 2019) (Goodman, USMJ), a business insured made claims for Hurricane Irma damages under its commercial property insurance coverage and under its loss of business income coverage under a single policy with Atlantic Casualty.
The policy had a Windstorm Exclusion. An independent adjuster hired by Atlantic Casualty "determined that all of the damage at the Property was the result of winds from Hurricane Irma and flooding." Somethings Fishy, 2019 WL 5866823, at *1. Atlantic Casualty denied all coverage on the basis of the IA's inspection and evaluation.
The Court determined two things at least. The first thing the Court determined is that if the claimed damage was caused by Hurricane Irma, then the damage was not caused by a Covered Cause. The policy expressly provided that coverage was provided for direct physical loss unless the claimed loss is excluded or limited. Somethings Fishy, 2019 WL 5866823, at *4.
Second, the policy's Windstorm Exclusion applied to exclude the claimed loss from Hurricane Irma. Simply put, the Windstorm Exclusion barred coverage for loss or damage "'[c]aused directly or indirectly by Windstorm or Hail, regardless'" of any other concurring cause of loss. The policy's Windstorm Exclusion also provided that "hurricane loss is 'therefore not a Covered Cause of Loss.'" Somethings Fishy, 2019 WL 5866823, at *4 (emphasis in original material quoted by the Court).
The Court accordingly granted Atlantic Casualty's motion for a summary judgment of no coverage. Although the Court did not delve into any other policy exclusions in its opinion, the Court still found space to declare them after the Court said that it did not have to declare them:
The Court need not consider if any additional exclusions apply under the Policy because the Windstorm Exclusion bars coverage as a whole. However, the Court finds that the following exclusions also apply: the Utility Services Exclusion, which bars any loss resulting from a power outage; the Water Exclusion, which bars coverage for loss caused by flooding; and the Limitation for loss of animals unless caused by a specified cause of loss (which does not include power outage or hurricane).
Somethings Fishy, 2019 WL 5866823, at *5.
Magistrate Jonathan Goodman decided this case. A little "inside baseball": He is almost a U.S. District Judge already. The lawyers who practice regularly in the Southern District of Florida hold him in high regard, and for the most part they enjoy his cultural references to the lyrics of pop songs and such. Keep an eye out for his continuing rise.
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