[CLC-Discussion] General Contractor License and Florida Public Adjuster License Question

[Willis, David]

Depending on the wording of the contract, the contractor could have a real issue.  I represented a business a couple of years ago in which the contractor agreed to negotiate the claim with the insurance company.  My client became dissatisfied with the work, paid the reasonable value of the work performed and terminated.  The contractor sued attaching the contract.  The court dismissed the contract claim with prejudice ruling it was an illegal contract because the contractor was not a public adjuster.  Given the wording of that contract, it was not even a close call for the judge.  I had warned the contractor’s counsel it was an issue and the contractor insisted on filing suit.


David C. Willis
Board Certified in Construction Law, Business Litigation and Real Estate        [http://www.rumberger.com/90F6E0/Signature/floridabar-boardcertified-sm2.gif]
[Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell]<http://www.rumberger.com>

407.839.2186 Direct
407.872.7300 Main
407.497.9174 Cell
dwillis at rumberger.com
www.rumberger.com<http://www.rumberger.com>
vCard<http://www.rumberger.com/90F6E0/assets/files/vcards/David%20Willis.vcf>

300 South Orange Avenue | Suite 1400 | Orlando, FL 32801
Mail To: P.O. Box 1873 | Orlando, FL 32802-1873

[LinkedIn]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/rumberger-kirk-&-caldwell>[Twitter]<https://twitter.com/rumbergerkirk>[Facebook]<https://www.facebook.com/rumbergerkirkcaldwell>


The information in this e-mail message is legally privileged and confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error, please delete from any device/media where the message is stored.
From: clc-discussion-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of alanhlubitzpa at bellsouth.net
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 1:51 PM
To: clc-discussion at lists.flabarrpptl.org
Cc: 'James Baker'; 'Scott Haft'
Subject: [CLC-Discussion] General Contractor License and Florida Public Adjuster License Question

Colleagues,

My firm represents a contractor that has been performing Hurricane Irene repairs to single family homes in South Florida. My client’s contract with the homeowner requires it to estimate the cost to repair the damage, transmit the estimate to the homeowner’s insurance carrier and communicate with the carrier’s adjuster to finalize the claim. The contract states that the contractor will accept the amount paid by the insurance company, plus the amount of the insurance deductible paid by the homeowner, as full compensation for the repairs.

The homeowner wrongfully terminated the contract, and my client filed suit. One of the affirmative defenses to the claim is that the contract is illegal because the contractor is not licensed as a Florida public adjuster. My client insists that this affirmative defense has no merit. Does anyone have a case or ruling that supports my client’s position?

I look forward to your responses.

Alan
Alan H. Lubitz, Esq.
Law Office of Alan H. Lubitz, P. A.
101 Plaza Real South
Suite 401
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Phone: 561-368-4404
Cell: 305-742-6556
alanhlubitzpa at bellsouth.net<mailto:alanhlubitzpa at bellsouth.net>

This transmission is intended to be delivered only to the named addressee(s). This email may contain information that is confidential, proprietary, attorney work-product or attorney-client privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, nor the employee or agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination or copying of this transmission (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender by email reply.



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/clc-discussion/attachments/20180930/e5ab6586/attachment.html>