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Ocean Harbor Casualty v. Aleman6/7/2000
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Amy Steele Donner, Judge.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. Bergh v. Canadian Universal Ins. Co., 216 So. 2d 436 (Fla. 1968); Columbia Cas. Co. v. Zimmerman, 62 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 1953).
SCHWARTZ, C.J., and GODERICH, J., concur.
RAMIREZ, J. (dissenting).
Appellant/plaintiff, Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company appeals the dismissal of its complaint for declaratory judgment. Respectfully, I would reverse the trial court's dismissal of the declaratory judgment action.
The appellee, Francisco Aleman, owned an automobile insured by Ocean Harbor. It was involved in an accident while being driven by Legia Lorenzo Espinoza. Ocean Harbor filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that there was no coverage under the policy due to a material misrepresentation allegedly made by Aleman during the application process, i.e., that there were no other licensed adults living in his household who would drive his car. The defendants in the declaratory judgment action filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, alleging that no cause of action for declaratory judgment was stated because the policy provisions were clear and unambiguous and the complaint sought a ruling on purely factual issues such as whether there was a material misrepresentation made during the application process, the trial court agreed and dismissed the complaint. I would reverse.
In my view, we should accept the good faith allegations the plaintiff has made in its complaint. Cf. Grunewald v. Warren, 655 So. 2d 1227, 1229 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Norris v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 324 So. 2d 108 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975) (the fact that the plaintiff may have exaggerated her claim cannot form the basis for concluding that the amount claimed could not in good faith reach the jurisdictional limit of the circuit court). The plaintiff alleged that the failure to disclose the information constituted a "material misrepresentation pursuant to Florida Statute 627.409 and therefore voids and nullifies coverage in this matter. However, Plaintiff is unsure as to its rights, obligations and duties under said policy and would seek a declaratory judgment ...."
Declaratory judgments in Florida are governed by Chapter 86 of the Florida Statutes, originally adopted in 1943. Ch. 21820, Laws of Fla. (1943). Under section 86.011, the trial court has jurisdiction to declare rights, status, and other equitable or legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed.... The court may render declaratory judgments on the existence, or nonexistence:
(1) Of any immunity, power, privilege, or right; or
(2) Of any fact upon which the existence or nonexistence of such immunity, power, privilege, or right does or may depend.... (emphasis added).
Section 86.101 states that the Declaratory Judgment Act "is declared to be substantive and remedial. Its purpose is to settle and to afford relief from insecurity and uncertainty with respect to rights, status and other equitable or legal relations and is to be liberally administered and construed." Kelner v. Woody, 399 So. 2d 35, 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)(emphasis added).
Despite broad statutory language, the Florida Supreme Court has limited the availability of declaratory actions where the issue is a "purely factual one." Columbia Cas. Co. v. Zimmerman, 62 So. 2d at 339. This decision has been soundly criticized. See Gregor J. Schwinghammer, Jr., Insurance Litigation in Florida: Declaratory Judgments and the Duty to Defend, 50 U.Mia.L.Rev. 945, 960-65 (1996)(pointing out that the court only referred to one section of the statute
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