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Florida appeals court reverses $335,000 award against Universal Property
The court said the jury’s damages exceeded the only valuation evidence by several times, though it kept Universal’s liability for additional covered benefits.
A Florida appeals court reversed a jury’s $335,000 award against Universal Property & Casualty, ruling the damages were unsupported by valuation evidence, according to Insurance Business. The dispute began after water and sewage backed up into a couple’s home through multiple fixtures in late December 2019.
Universal inspected the claim and set the covered water damage at a little more than $12,000 in replacement cost value, paying just over $7,000 in actual cash value after depreciation and a deductible, the outlet said. Homeowners argued the cast-iron drainage system under the slab had failed due to rust, corrosion, and breaks, and they sued in 2021.
By the time trial started in September 2024, the case narrowed to whether the policy covered the cost to tear out and repair parts of the home needed to access plumbing that required repair or replacement. The only dollar figures in evidence came from two Triad Restoration Services estimates, at $79,680.22 in replacement cost value and $50,219.97 in actual cash value, Insurance Business reported.
The jury returned damages that far outpaced those figures, including $335,000 in replacement cost value or $305,000 in actual cash value, with no witness providing numbers to bridge the gap. The appeals court sent the case back for a damages-only review, instructing the lower court to decide whether replacement cost value or actual cash value is the right measure.