Riley Love v. Florida Family Insurance Company

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: March 11, 2026
• Docket: 3D2025-2537
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed March 11, 2026. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D25-2537 Lower Tribunal No. 21-CA-446-P ________________

Riley Love, et al., Appellants,

vs.

Florida Family Insurance Company, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, James W. Morgan, III, Judge.

Josef Timlichman Law, PLLC, and Josef Timlichman (Hollywood), for appellants.

Banker Lopez Gassler, P.A., and Chris W. Altenbernd and Gabriella E. Lopez (Tampa) and Eleanor H. Sills (Tallahassee), for appellee.

Before MILLER, GORDO and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

ON MOTION TO DISMISS Riley and Jill Love appeal an order denying their motion to set aside

an appraisal award. The Loves seek review of this nonfinal order under

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130. But they have identified no

provision of the rule that would allow an appeal. Rule 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv)

authorizes an appeal of a nonfinal order that determines “the entitlement of

a party to an appraisal under an insurance policy.” But the order granting

entitlement to appraisal was entered in 2022 and could have been appealed

then (and wasn’t). See Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London v. Gables

Court Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 357 So. 3d 759, 761 n.1 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023)

(finding jurisdiction to review a nonfinal order compelling appraisal pursuant

to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv)). The rule does not

separately authorize an appeal of a nonfinal order denying a motion to set

aside an award subsequently entered.

And we cannot consider this a final, appealable order because a

counterclaim for breach of contract remains pending that “rel[ies] on the

same operative facts” as the petition to compel appraisal. Homeowners

Choice Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Fraser, 346 So. 3d 228, 230 (Fla. 3d DCA

2022); see also Marinich v. Special Edition Custom Homes, LLC, 1 So. 3d

1197 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (dismissing an appeal for lack of jurisdiction

because an interrelated counterclaim remained pending below). We

2 therefore grant the motion to dismiss as an appeal of a nonappealable,

nonfinal order.

Motion to dismiss granted; appeal dismissed.