Case Name: Raul BETANCOURT, et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF MIAMI, etc., et al., Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1998-05-06
Citations: 709 So. 2d 196
Docket Number: No. 97-994
Parties: Raul BETANCOURT, et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF MIAMI, etc., et al., Appellees.
Judges: Before JORGENSON, COPE and SORONDO, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 709
Pages: 196–196

Head Matter:
Raul BETANCOURT, et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF MIAMI, etc., et al., Appellees.
No. 97-994.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
May 6, 1998.
Scott A. Lazar and Dennis A. Koltun, Miami, for appellants.
Joel Edward Maxwell and David Stone; Robert S. Glazier, Miami, and Jason Scott Coupal, Hollywood, for appellees.
Before JORGENSON, COPE and SORONDO, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Raul Betancourt, the plaintiff in a personal injury action brought against the City of Miami and other defendants appeals from an order of final summary judgment entered in favor of the City. We affirm.
Before a plaintiff files an action seeking compensatory damages against a municipality, he must first present a claim in writing within three years of that claim's accrual. § 786.26(6)(a), Fla. Stat. (1991). In this case, Mr. Betancourt was injured on April 11, 1992; on January 26, 1996, his attorney sent the City of Miami a letter entitled "Notice of Claim." Because the notice was not timely, the action against the City was barred. See Levine v. Dade County School Board, 442 So.2d 210, 213 (Fla.1983).
Contrary to the plaintiffs argument, the City was not estopped from raising the defense of failure to give timely notice. The City's investigation of the incident, without any assurances to Mr. Betancourt that formal notice was not required, was not sufficient to give rise to a claim for estoppel. See Brown v. State Dep't of Corrections, 701 So.2d 1211, 1213 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997).
AFFIRMED.