[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

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No. 19-10503

Non-Argument Calendar

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D.C. Docket No. 2:17-cv-00430-PAM-CM

RELIABLE MARINE TOWING AND SALVAGE LLC, 

 Plaintiff - Cross Claimant-Appellant,

versus

JOHN THOMAS, 

in personam, 

 Defendant - Appellee,

STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY 

COMPANY, 

a foreign corporation, 

 Defendants - Cross Defendant – Appellees.

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Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Florida

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(October 21, 2019)

Case: 19-10503 Date Filed: 10/21/2019 Page: 1 of 8 
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Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, TJOFLAT, and JORDAN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

John Thomas’ boat partially sank in a storm off the coast of Florida. 

Reliable Marine Towing and Salvage, LLC, sent an employee to provide rescue 

services. Thomas and his boat made it to shore and he later filed a claim with his 

marine insurer, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. 

Thomas’ insurance policy with State Farm covered up to $6,750.00 worth of 

damage to the boat under “Coverage A.” It also covered “wreck removal.” But 

wreck removal was included in the Coverage A policy limit. If the combined cost 

of the repairs to the boat and the wreck removal exceeded $6,750.00, the policy 

provided additional coverage for a maximum of 5% over the Coverage A limit, or 

$337.50. The policy provided an additional $500 payment, not included in 

Coverage A, for “emergency services.” 

Because of the extent of the damage, State Farm considered Thomas’ boat a 

total loss and paid him the Coverage A policy limit.1

 At the time of that payment 

State Farm had not received any proof of Reliable Marine’s services and had no 

reason to provide any coverage for wreck removal or emergency services. 

1 State Farm actually paid slightly less than $6,750.00 because Thomas kept the remains 

of the boat. Following the terms of the policy, State Farm subtracted the salvage value from the 

Coverage A payout. There is no dispute that State Farm met its Coverage A limit requirements 

under the policy.

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Two weeks after State Farm sent Thomas the Coverage A payment, Reliable 

Marine faxed State Farm an invoice. The invoice billed Thomas $3,109.84 for the 

rescue services.

2 State Farm classified Reliable Marine’s rescue services as both 

emergency services and wreck removal. It determined that the policy covered 

$500 for emergency services. Because it had already paid Thomas the policy limit

under Coverage A, the policy also covered $337.50 based on the 5% additional 

coverage for wreck removal, making the total for emergency services and wreck 

removal $837.50. The invoice did not include an assignment of insurance benefits 

from Thomas to Reliable Marine. Because the policy required State Farm to pay 

Thomas directly unless another party was “legally entitled to receive payment,” 

State Farm sent Thomas the $837.50 check. But Thomas didn’t pay Reliable 

Marine. And in July 2017 Reliable Marine sued Thomas and State Farm. 

In its complaint, Reliable Marine alleged that State Farm had breached the 

insurance policy it had with Thomas, and it claimed that it was a third party 

beneficiary to that policy. It asserted a separate claim against Thomas for salvage. 

Thomas consented to judgment and assigned to Reliable Marine any claims he 

2 There is a lack of clarity in the record about what services Reliable Marine actually 

provided. The parties agree that Reliable Marine “raised” Thomas’ boat by pumping the water 

out of it so that it would float. Thomas testified in his deposition that the engine in his boat was 

still working, so he navigated the boat to shore on his own after Reliable Marine raised it.

Reliable Marine asserts that it towed Thomas’ boat to shore. The invoice that it later 

submitted to State Farm sought payment of $3,109.84 for two hours and forty-eight minutes of 

towing and other “salvage services.” State Farm did not contest the charges. 

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might have against State Farm. Reliable Marine then filed a cross-complaint 

against State Farm standing in Thomas’ shoes. It alleged that State Farm had 

breached the insurance policy by not reimbursing Thomas for the cost of Reliable 

Marine’s services. The district court denied Reliable Marine’s motion for 

summary judgment and granted summary judgment to State Farm.

Reliable Marine appeals that judgment, raising two contentions. It first

contends that because State Farm had an invoice showing that Thomas owed 

Reliable Marine for rescue services, the insurer should have paid the $837.50 

directly to Reliable Marine. Second, Reliable Marine contends that State Farm is 

liable for the full cost of the rescue services — above and beyond the policy 

limit — under both Florida insurance law and what it asserts is the policy’s “sue 

and labor” clause.

We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment. LeBlanc 

v. Unifund CCR Partners, 601 F.3d 1185, 1189 (11th Cir. 2010). Interpretation of 

the terms of an insurance policy is a matter of law that is also subject to de novo

review. Hegel v. First Liberty Ins. Corp., 778 F.3d 1214, 1219 (11th Cir. 2015)

(applying Florida law).

I.

Reliable Marine first contends that State Farm should have paid it, not 

Thomas, the $837.50. Reliable Marine asserts that the district court committed an 

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“error in findings and fact” by concluding that “State Farm did not know that 

[Thomas] had assigned any rights to Reliable Marine.” According to Reliable 

Marine, because State Farm had the invoice it must have known about the rescue 

services when it sent the second payment to Thomas. It is difficult to tell from 

Reliable Marine’s briefs exactly how that argument supports its allegation that the 

insurance policy was breached or even what remedy it is seeking. Happily it does 

not matter. 

 State Farm indisputably did know that Reliable Marine provided rescue 

services. That’s why it wrote the check. It wrote the check to Thomas because the

plain language of the policy required State Farm to pay Thomas directly unless 

another party was “legally entitled to receive payment.” 

 Reliable Marine did not provide any evidence that Thomas assigned to it

his right to the insurance payments.

3

 Nor did it cite any authority indicating that an 

invoice establishes “legal entitle[ment]” to receive payment, which the policy 

required for a direct payment. Reliable Marine has not established the existence of 

3 Thomas did assign any claims he might have against State Farm to Reliable Marine.

But that assignment was part of his consent to judgment in this lawsuit; it took place after the 

insurance proceeds for rescue services had already been paid to Thomas. There is no evidence 

that Thomas had assigned to Reliable Marine his right to receive payment from State Farm

before it paid Thomas the rescue services payment.

In its brief to this Court, Reliable Marine points out that oral contracts are enforceable 

under maritime law. But because it points to no evidence that Thomas orally assigned it any 

insurance proceeds that he was entitled to recover under the policy, the rules of oral contracts in 

maritime law have no bearing on this case.

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a genuine issue of material fact about whether State Farm violated the terms of the

policy by sending the $837.50 directly to Thomas. Id. Indeed, the plain language 

of the policy establishes that State Farm was obligated to do just that. 

II.

Reliable Marine next contends that even though State Farm has already paid 

out the maximum coverage limit it must also pay the full cost of Reliable Marine’s

services, which it asserts amounts to $3,109.84.

4

 Reliable Marine argues that full 

payment is required both under Florida law and under the terms of the insurance

policy. 

A. 

Reliable Marine relies on Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Macedo, 

228 So. 3d 1111 (Fla. 2017), to argue that Florida insurance companies must

reimburse insureds for expenses that the insurance company requires them to 

incur.

5

 And because under his policy Thomas had to “protect the property from 

further loss,” Reliable Marine argues that State Farm must reimburse it for the full 

cost of the rescue services. But that is not what Macedo holds. The insurance 

4 In its complaint Reliable Marine claimed that State Farm owes Reliable Marine money

as a third party beneficiary to the policy. In its cross-complaint Reliable Marine claimed that

State Farm owed it money because Thomas assigned it his right to sue. It does not matter which 

theory Reliable Marine uses because, as we will explain, State Farm had no duty to pay anything

above the maximum coverage limit. 5 If there is no “judicially established federal admiralty rule,” we rely on state law to 

interpret a marine insurance policy. See AIG Centennial Ins. Co. v. O’Neill, 782 F.3d 1296, 

1302 (11th Cir. 2015).

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company in Macedo had to reimburse the insured’s expenses because the policy 

was ambiguous about whether it would reimburse those expenses. Id. at 1113. 

Under Florida law if an insurance contract is unambiguous the plain 

language controls. Id. And Thomas’ State Farm policy is unambiguous. It paid 

the full Coverage A limit because the boat was declared a total loss. And State 

Farm paid another 5% over that policy limit plus $500 for the services that

Reliable Marine provided. It is clear from the plain language of the policy that is

all Thomas could expect from State Farm. And as a result, that’s all Reliable 

Marine could expect.

B.

Reliable Marine also contends that the district court erred in finding that the 

State Farm policy did not include a sue and labor clause. Under a sue and labor 

clause the insured is required “to sue, labor and travel for, in and about the defense, 

safeguard and recovery of” the boat. Reliance Ins. Co. v. The Escapade, 280 F.2d 

482, 484 n.4 (5th Cir. 1960).6 In exchange the insurance company agrees to 

reimburse the cost to the insured. Munson v. Standard Marine Ins. Co., 156 F. 44, 

47 (1st Cir.1907) (holding that if an insurer does not expressly agree to reimburse 

the insured for sue and labor expenses it is not a “true ancient sue and labor 

6 In Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc), we adopted as 

binding precedent all decisions of the former Fifth Circuit handed down before October 1, 1981.

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clause,” and the insurer has no duty to reimburse those expenses). Reliable argues 

that Thomas’ policy contains a sue and labor clause that obligates State Farm to 

reimburse it for the full cost of raising Thomas’ boat.

We agree with the district court that there is no sue and labor clause in the 

State Farm policy. The policy has a clause that requires Thomas to “protect the 

property from further loss.” But the clause does not require Thomas to go to the 

great lengths to protect the boat than a sue and labor clause would require. The 

clause in Thomas’ policy does not require him to sue anyone; nor does he have to 

travel. And State Farm did not promise to reimburse Thomas for expenses he 

incurred “protect[ing] the property from further loss.” Under Florida law 

insurance contracts are interpreted according to their plain language, Macedo, 228 

So. 3d at 1113, and the plain language in Thomas’ policy does not include a sue 

and labor clause.

AFFIRMED.

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