Case Name: HARTFORD ACCIDENT AND INDEMNITY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Josephine CLASSIE, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1981-04-21
Citations: 396 So. 2d 1204
Docket Number: No. 80-139
Parties: HARTFORD ACCIDENT AND INDEMNITY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Josephine CLASSIE, Appellee.
Judges: Before HUBBART, C. J., and BASKIN and FERGUSON, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 396
Pages: 1204–1205

Head Matter:
HARTFORD ACCIDENT AND INDEMNITY COMPANY, Appellant, v. Josephine CLASSIE, Appellee.
No. 80-139.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
April 21, 1981.
Talburt, Kubicki & Bradley and Betsy E. Hartley, Carl B. Schwait, Miami, for appellant.
Samuel J. Hannon and C. J. Van Delin-der, Miami, for appellee.
Before HUBBART, C. J., and BASKIN and FERGUSON, JJ.

Opinion:
BASKIN, Judge.
Only the court may determine issues concerning the existence of uninsured motorist coverage, Vigilant Insurance Co. v. Kelps, 372 So.2d 207 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), that is, the insurance status of the allegedly negligent motorist. Arbitrators may determine whether the facts of the case disclose a "right or basis for recovery under the coverage provided for in the policy", Ebens v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 278 So.2d 674, 675 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973), that is, the factual merit of the claim. Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Mirth, 333 So.2d 545 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); see also Allstate Insurance Co. v. Langston, 358 So.2d 1387 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). The trial court correctly ruled in accordance with these principles; we therefore affirm the Final Judgment which established uninsured motorist coverage and ordered arbitration proceedings as to proximate cause of the injury.
Affirmed.