Tampa Associate Lauren Vagnoni obtained complete dismissal of all claims in a highly contested assignment of benefits case against the firm's client, a Fortune 50 insurer.
The complaint alleged breach for failure to pay the full amount of the plaintiff’s invoice. At the hearing, the plaintiff also argued that the client’s post-suit payment operated as a confession of judgment as to all of the plaintiff’s claims.
The court rejected the plaintiff’s arguments and found that the plaintiff had not complied with the terms of the underlying contract, the insurance policy, by refusing to participate in the mandatory appraisal process. More importantly, the court found that the insurer’s post-suit partial payment was not a confession of judgment because 1) there can be no confession when a plaintiff does not comply with all of the policy’s pre-suit conditions, namely appraisal, and 2) a partial payment is not an agreement to the “precise relief” that the plaintiff seeks and is, therefore, not a confession.
This result paves the way for another avenue in defending against the ever-pervasive confession of judgment doctrine in Florida litigation. The team would like to acknowledge Of Counsel Jonathon Drews and paralegal Emily Smith, who provided invaluable assistance in reaching this result.