A Florida homeowner’s dispute over a water-damage payment has clarified when a state law requiring notice before suing a property insurer applies.
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law → clarify → insurer
On October 22, 2026, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the presuit-notice requirement introduced in 2021 cannot be applied retroactively to property insurance policies issued before the law took effect.
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law → rule → effect
The case involved Rebecca Hughes, whose homeowners policy with Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company ran from April 24, 2019, to April 24, 2020.
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policy → involve → April
After disputing the insurer’s payment for water damage, Hughes sued in August 2021 without giving the notice required under the new law.
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Hughes → dispute → law
The trial court dismissed her complaint, but the Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed.
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Court → dismiss → Appeal
In Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Rebecca Hughes, No. SC2024-0025 (Fla. Oct. 22, 2026), the Supreme Court approved the Sixth District’s decision and rejected a conflicting ruling from the Fourth District.
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Court → approve → District
All 7 justices agreed with the outcome, with Justice Tanenbaum writing a separate concurring opinion.
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Tanenbaum → agree → opinion
Florida water-damage claim dispute: How the Rebecca Hughes case reached the Supreme Court
Hughes held a homeowners insurance policy with Universal from April 24, 2019, to April 24, 2020.
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Hughes → reach → April
On May 29, 2019, she filed a claim for water damage.
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she → file → damage
Universal reviewed the claim and made a payment, but Hughes considered the amount insufficient.
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amount → review → payment
She obtained 3 repair bids and sought additional payment from the insurer, according to the Florida Supreme Court’s opinion.
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She → obtain → opinion
On July 1, 2021, section 627.70152 of the Florida Statutes took effect as part of a broader overhaul of property insurance law.
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section → take → law
The statute covers lawsuits arising under residential or commercial property insurance policies, subject to its terms and exceptions.
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statute → cover → terms
It introduced a requirement for claimants to give the Florida Department of Financial Services written notice of their intention to sue at least 10 business days before filing a lawsuit.
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claimants → introduce → lawsuit
Under subsection (5), a court must dismiss without prejudice a suit involving a claim for which the required notice was not given.
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notice → dismiss → which
A dismissal without prejudice does not, by itself, prevent the claimant from bringing the case again.
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dismissal → prevent → case
On August 4, 2021, Hughes sued Universal over the disputed payment without submitting the new notice.
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Hughes → sue → notice
Universal asked the trial court to dismiss her complaint, arguing that the notice requirement applied.
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requirement → ask → complaint
The trial court agreed and dismissed the case without prejudice.
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court → agree → prejudice
Hughes appealed, and Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal.
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Court → appeal → dismissal
The dispute reached the state’s highest court to resolve a conflict among the district appeals courts over whether the new requirement applied to policies issued before July 1, 2021.
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requirement → reach → July
In Cole v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., 363 So. 3d 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023), the Fourth District had concluded that the notice requirement applied retroactively to existing policies.
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requirement → conclude → policies
The Third District later adopted that interpretation in a separate case, while the First, Second, Fifth and Sixth Districts concluded that the statute did not apply retroactively.
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statute → adopt → case
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hughes’s case on February 5, 2025.
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Court → hear → February
Why the Florida Supreme Court rejected retroactive application
Chief Justice Couriel authored the majority opinion.
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Couriel → reject → opinion
The court examined whether the Florida Legislature had clearly stated that section 627.70152 should apply to policies issued before July 1, 2021.
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section → examine → July
Under the court’s established two-step test, it first looks for a clear legislative intention to make a law retroactive.
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law → establish → intention
Only if that intention is established does it consider whether retroactive application would violate constitutional principles.
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application → establish → principles
The court found no clear command in the statute.
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court → find → statute
It considered the phrase “all suits” in section 627.70152(1), which describes the lawsuits covered by the provision, but concluded that the wording did not establish that the law extended to suits involving policies issued before its effective date.
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law → consider → date
The court also rejected the Fourth District’s reasoning that the Legislature would have expressly excluded older policies if it intended the law to apply only to newer ones.
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law → reject → ones
According to the Supreme Court, the absence of language limiting a statute to future policies does not amount to clear evidence that lawmakers intended it to apply retroactively.
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it → accord → evidence
The statute’s stated effective date also weighed against applying it to earlier policies.
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date → state → policies
Universal argued that the notice requirement was procedural rather than substantive.
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requirement → argue → ?
The court disagreed after considering the law as a whole.
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court → disagree → whole
The provision did more than establish a filing procedure: it delayed an insured’s ability to sue and gave insurers an additional opportunity to evaluate and pay claims before litigation.
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it → do → litigation
It also prescribed dismissal for noncompliance and, under subsection (8)(b), restricted recovery of attorney fees incurred before dismissal.
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It → prescribe → dismissal
That fee provision was subsequently repealed in 2022.
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provision → repeal → 2022
The court concluded that these effects altered the rights and obligations of policyholders and insurers under property insurance contracts.
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effects → conclude → contracts
It therefore declined to apply the notice requirement to Hughes’s 2019 policy.
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It → decline → policy
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
