Canales v. American Security Insurance Company

Full title: JOSE CANALES, Plaintiff, v. AMERICAN SECURITY INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant

Court: United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Tampa Division

Date published: Jun 2, 2010

CASE NO: 8:09-cv-1335-T-33AEP (M.D. Fla. Jun. 2, 2010)

Opinion

CASE NO: 8:09-cv-1335-T-33AEP.

June 2, 2010

ORDER

VIRGINIA COVINGTON, District Judge

This cause comes before the Court pursuant to Defendant's Notice of Request for Neutral Evaluation and Motion to Stay Litigation (Doc. # 34). Plaintiff filed a Response in Opposition thereto (Doc. # 35).

Defendant seeks to stay this litigation and allow for a neutral evaluation of the premises pursuant to Florida Statute § 627.7074. Florida Statute § 627.7074 provides in pertinent part:

(4) Neutral evaluation is nonbinding, but mandatory if requested by either party. A request for neutral evaluation may be filed with the department by the policyholder or the insurer on a form approved by the department. The request for neutral evaluation must state the reason for the request and must include an explanation of all the issues in dispute at the time of the request. Filing a request for neutral evaluation tolls the applicable time requirements for filing suit for a period of 60 days following the conclusion of the neutral evaluation process or the time prescribed in s. 95.11, whichever is later.

. . .

(11) Any court proceeding related to the subject matter of the neutral evaluation shall be stayed pending completion of the neutral evaluation.

Fla. Stat. § 627.7074.

Defendant has formally requested a neutral evaluation pursuant to the statute. (Doc. # 34, Exh. B). Further, the statute clearly states that court proceedings must be stayed pending completion of the neutral evaluation. Fla. Stat. § 627.7074(11).

Accordingly, it is

ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:

(1) Defendant's Motion to Stay Litigation (Doc. # 34) is GRANTED. This case is stayed pending the completion of the neutral evaluation.

(2) Defendant shall file a status report regarding the neutral evaluation on July 2, 2010 and every 30 days thereafter.

(3) Upon completion of the neutral evaluation, the parties shall move to lift the stay. Once the stay is lifted, the Court will enter an amended scheduling order rescheduling the pretrial conference and trial of this matter.

(4) Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 11) is DENIED AS MOOT with leave to re-file as necessary within 14 days after the stay is lifted.

DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida.