A Florida appellate court found that an unaccrued and premature third-party bad-faith claim filed before a settlement or verdict against the insured is in direct violation of the nonjoinder statute, Fla. Stat. §627.4136, and must be dismissed rather than merely abated. GEICO Gen. Ins. Co. v. Katherine Martinez, 2018 WL 271823 (Fla. 3d DCA Jan. 3, 2018).
The respondent was injured in an automobile accident involving a vehicle driven by the insured. Shortly after the accident, the respondent sued the insured alleging negligence. The respondent amended her complaint to add the insurer as a defendant and pleaded a bad-faith claim against the insurer. The insurer filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the bad-faith claim had not yet accrued and was premature pursuant to the nonjoinder statute, Fla. Stat. §627.4136. The trial court abated the action against the insurer pending resolution of the negligence claim against the insured. The insurer petitioned the appellate court for a writ of certiorari.
The appellate court granted the insurer's petition and quashed the trial court's order, finding that an unaccrued and premature third-party bad-faith claim filed before a verdict or settlement is obtained against the insured in direct violation of the nonjoinder statute, Fla. Stat. §627.4136, and must be dismissed rather than abated. The appellate court explained that the nonjoinder statute precludes the accrual of any cause of action against an insurer by a third-party until the third-party satisfies the statute's compulsory condition precedent of obtaining a settlement or verdict against the insured. The appellate court further noted that a third party would have no interest in an insurance policy and, thus, no standing to bring a claim against an insurer until the condition precedent is satisfied.
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