U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom. Photo: Melanie Bell

A decision by a Miami federal judge highlights a split among Florida district courts on whether to include statutory attorney fees when calculating whether an insurance coverage case removed from state court meets the federal minimum for the amount in controversy.

On Sept. 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck South Florida and damaged the home owned by Jaclyn and Xavier Caceres. The Cacereses submitted a claim to their insurer, Scottsdale Insurance Co.

Scottsdale assigned a claim number and issued the Cacereses a check for $10,975, reflecting a wind deductible in the amount of $5,854.

In May 2019, after renewing their policy, the Cacereses submitted a separate claim for property damage due to heavy rain and roof collapse. Scottsdale assigned a claim number and issued the Cacereses a check for $7,975.

On June 22, 2019, the Cacereses presented Scottsdale with a repair estimate for $91,863 that covered the estimated damages for both claims.

On Sept. 5, 2019, the Cacereses sued Scottsdale in state court. Their complaint alleged they were seeking damages in excess of $15,000, and they sought to recover attorney fees and costs under Florida Statutes Section 627.428.

Scottsdale removed the state court action to federal court, indicating among other things that the amount in controversy was $75,034 based on the $91,863 repair estimate minus the $10,975 check paid and the wind deductible.

The Cacereses moved to remand, arguing the amount in controversy did not exceed $75,000. Specifically, they contended Scottsdale could not use a pre-suit damage estimate as a basis for establishing the amount in controversy and, even using the pre-suit damage estimate, Scottsdale failed to account for the second check to the Cacereses, which decreased the amount in controversy from $75,034 to $67,059.

For its part, Scottsdale countered the amount in controversy requirement was satisfied because the Cacereses sought to recover attorney fees and costs, which through trial could easily exceed the remaining $7,941 needed to establish the amount in controversy under the Cacereses' interpretation.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom granted the Cacereses' motion to remand.  In her decision Thursday, she ruled  district courts may consider pre-suit demands in evaluating whether a case has been properly removed.

The district court then observed the Cacereses' total estimate of damages for the claims from both the Sept. 10, 2017 loss and the May 13, 2019 loss amounted to $91,863, Scottsdale issued two checks to the Cacereses for the losses, and the wind deductible of $5,853.68 was applied to the 2017 claim.

The district court said it was "clear" the amount in controversy was $67,059.

Bloom next considered whether the Cacereses' bid for attorney fees counted toward the amount in controversy. She noted the issue has caused a split in district courts within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, citing a 2017 Middle District of Florida decision discussing the divide and a 2010 Southern District of Florida case discussing the "conflicting case law" on whether the amount of  should be calculated on the date of removal or through the end of the case.

The district court then ruled the amount in controversy did "not include highly speculative, prospective amounts" of attorney fees but rather only those fees accrued at the time of removal. According to the district court, this ruling was in line with a 1994 Eleventh Circuit precedent establishing "jurisdictional facts are assessed on the basis of plaintiff's complaint as of the time of removal."

The district court noted Scottsdale provided no evidence to establish the Cacereses accrued $7,941 in attorney fees by the removal. Accordingly, the district court concluded Scottsdale had not satisfied its burden of establishing the amount in controversy exceeded $75,000.

Read the order:

The case is Caceres v. Scottsdale Insurance, Case No. 19-cv-24163-BLOOM/Louis (S.D. Fla. Dec. 5, 2019). Attorneys: For Jaclyn Caceres and Xavier Caceres, plaintiffs: John E. Hughes III, John W. McLuskey and Lisa Anne Riddle, McLuskey, McDonald & Hughes, Miami; For Scottsdale Insurance, defendant: Gary Joseph Spahn Jr., Cabaniss Smith Toole & Wiggins, Orlando, and Lucie Robinson and Nyasha Seale, Wilson Elser, Orlando.

Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. Meyerowitz is the Director of the Insurance Coverage Law Center and editor-in-chief of journals on insurance law, banking law, bankruptcy law, energy law, government contracting law, and privacy and cybersecurity law, among other subjects. Contact him at smeyerowitz@meyerowitzcommunications.com.