Ronald St. Pierre and Beth St. Pierre v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company

Opinion

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA

_____________________________

Case No. 5D2024-0705 LT Case No. 2023-CA-009035

_____________________________

RONALD ST. PIERRE and BETH ST. PIERRE,

Appellants,

v.

STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY,

Appellee.

_____________________________

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County. G.L. Feltel, Jr., Judge.

Chad A. Barr, of Chad Barr Law, Altamonte Springs, for Appellants.

C. Ryan Jones, Brandon R. Christian, David T. Burr, and Matthew A. Taylor, of Traus Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, St. Petersburg, for Appellee.

May 29, 2026

HARRIS, J.

Appellants, Ronald and Beth St. Pierre, appeal the trial court’s order granting Appellee’s, State Farm Florida Insurance Company, motion to dismiss their complaint. The basis for the

2

dismissal was that Appellants failed to comply with the notice requirement under section 627.70152, Florida Statutes. Appellants argue the trial court erred in dismissing their complaint because section 627.70152 cannot be retroactively applied to a homeowner’s insurance policy issued before the statute’s enactment. Consistent with Appellants’ argument, this Court has previously held that the notice requirement in section 627.70152 does not apply retroactively. See Smith v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 396 So. 3d 860 (Fla. 5th DCA 2024). We therefore reverse the order dismissing the complaint and remand for further proceedings.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

JAY, C.J., and EDWARDS, J., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.

_____________________________