Scottsdale Ins. Co. v. Haynes

Citations: 793 So. 2d 1006; 2001 WL 698129Docket: 5D00-111

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; September 14, 2001; Florida; State Appellate Court

SummaryOriginalCytator Case TreatmentAnalysis

EnglishEspañolSimplified EnglishEspañol Fácil

Scottsdale Insurance Company appeals a final summary judgment in favor of Home Away From Home of Holly Hill, Inc. The central issue is whether attorney's fees that may be awarded against Home Away in a lawsuit brought by Ruth W. Haynes' personal representative are covered under Scottsdale's liability policy. The trial court ruled that they were covered, but Scottsdale disagrees, seeking a reversal.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 1995 by Haynes' representative, alleging violations of section 400.428 regarding Haynes' treatment at Home Away. A jury awarded Haynes $150,401.20 in compensatory damages, while the trial court deferred the decision on attorney's fees and costs. Scottsdale provided a defense and accepted coverage for the compensatory damages but contested its liability for potential attorney's fees under section 400.429, which allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover such fees unless bad faith is proven.

The statute does not clarify whether an insurer is liable for attorney's fees awarded against its insured. Scottsdale's policy states it will cover sums the insured is legally obligated to pay due to damages from a medical incident during the policy period, but it does not define "damages." Therefore, Scottsdale's liability for attorney's fees hinges on whether those fees qualify as damages under the insurance contract. 

The trial court referenced an earlier case, Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Pinecrest Limited Partnership, which addressed a similar issue. Although Scottsdale conceded the issues were identical, it argued that Pinecrest should not set precedent due to the brevity of its opinion. The Pinecrest ruling affirmed the enforcement of the insurance policy based on its plain language regarding attorney's fees.

The statement asserts that the opinion in question lacks precedential value, similar to a PCA, and critiques the relevance of the cited cases. Two cases involve the Florida Patient's Compensation Fund and differ in statutory language and social policies from section 400.29, while the third case addresses a civil court's jurisdictional limit and is not directly applicable to the current issues. The general legal principle is that attorney fees are not recoverable unless explicitly authorized by statute or contract. In this context, the legislation does not impose liability on a liability insurer without specific contract language, and the policy in question does not cover attorney's fees as part of damages. Attorney's fees are characterized as ancillary to damages and not substantive claims. A cited case, Scottsdale Insurance Co. v. Deer Run Property Owners Ass'n, concluded that attorney's fees were not covered under a similar insurance provision because they were not associated with a damage award. The court emphasizes that insurance policies require explicit language to include attorney's fees as damages. The decision concludes that the insurance policy does not extend to liability for attorney's fees or related costs, leading to a reversal of the lower court's ruling.

The court granted the motions to certify the issue as one of great public importance while denying the remainder of the motions. It certified to the Florida Supreme Court the question of whether an insured can recover reasonable attorney's fees as "damages" from a liability insurer when those fees were awarded to a prevailing plaintiff under Section 400.429, Florida Statutes, against the insured, and the insurance contract stipulates that the insurer will pay all sums the insured is obligated to pay as damages for injuries covered by the policy during the policy period. The motion to certify the question was granted, while the other motions were denied. Judges Peterson and Powell concurred. Noted references include relevant case law and definitions pertaining to "damages," indicating that attorney's fees are not classified as damages in legal terminology.