Roberto J. Sotolongo v. SafePoint Insurance Company

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed October 30, 2024.

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-1373

Lower Tribunal No. 21-25185

________________

Roberto J. Sotolongo, et al., Appellants,

vs.

SafePoint Insurance Company, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Vivianne Del Rio, Judge.

Shield Law Group of Florida, LLC, and Jamie Alvarez (Davie), for appellants.

Bickford & Chidnese, LLP, and Patrick M. Chidnese and Frieda C.

Lindroth (Tampa), for appellee.

Before SCALES, LOBREE, and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed. See Perez v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., 343 So. 3d 140, 143 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (“Ms. Perez’s expert did not have access to any information as to the state of the roof immediately following the Hurricane. There was no investigation following the initial loss because Ms. Perez waited over two years to report her claim to Citizens. Instead, Mr. Renne formed his opinion based solely on his investigation conducted nearly three years after the incident, after repairs had already been conducted on the roof. This lapse in time, as well as the intervening repairs, rendered Mr. Renne’s opinion wholly conclusory as to whether the current damage was caused by the Hurricane or some other event from the intervening three years. Mr. Renne’s affidavit was insufficient to rebut the presumption of prejudice to Citizens resulting from Ms. Perez’s delay in reporting the claim.”).