Opinion ID: 76127
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Strict Compliance with Policy Conditions

Text: 13 The issue in this case is whether the district court correctly determined that all conditions precedent must be fulfilled before an individual may receive benefits under a federal flood insurance contract. Five of our sister circuits that have addressed this issue have all concluded that there must be strict compliance with the terms and conditions of federal flood insurance policies and that the failure to file a proof of loss prohibits a plaintiff from recovery. Dawkins v. Witt, 318 F.3d 606 (4th Cir.2003); Mancini v. Redland Ins. Co., 248 F.3d 729 (8th Cir.2001); Flick v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 205 F.3d 386 (9th Cir.2000); Gowland v. Aetna, 143 F.3d 951 (5th Cir.1998); Phelps v. Fed. Emergency Mgmt. Agency, 785 F.2d 13 (1st Cir.1986). But see Meister Bros., Inc. v. Macy, 674 F.2d 1174 (7th Cir.1982). 6 14 In reaching this conclusion, these circuit courts have all relied on Federal Crop Ins. Corporation v. Merrill, 332 U.S. 380, 384-85, 68 S.Ct. 1, 92 L.Ed. 10 (1947), where the Supreme Court held that an insured must comply strictly with all terms and conditions of a federal insurance policy. In Merrill, the Supreme Court recognized the duty of all courts to observe the conditions defined by Congress for charging the public treasury. Id. at 385, 68 S.Ct. 1. 15 In Flick, 205 F.3d at 391, the court recognized that, since Merrill, the Supreme Court, in Office of Personnel Management v. Richmond, 496 U.S. 414, 110 S.Ct. 2465, 110 L.Ed.2d 387 (1990), further curtailed the ability of those individuals insured via the federal government to avoid the terms and conditions of their policies. See generally Dawkins, 318 F.3d at 611; Mancini, 248 F.3d at 735; Gowland, 143 F.3d at 954-55. Richmond concluded that the Appropriations Clause's fundamental purpose is to assure that public funds will be spent according to the letter of the difficult judgments reached by Congress as to the common good and not according to the individual favor of Government agents or the individual pleas of litigants. Richmond, 496 U.S. at 428, 110 S.Ct. 2465. The Supreme Court went on to hold that a plaintiff who was misinformed about his qualification to collect disability benefits could not estop the government from collecting overpayments caused by the erroneous advice of a government employee. Id. at 434, 110 S.Ct. 2465. 16 As the Supreme Court has warned, not even the temptations of a hard case should cause courts to read the requirements of a federal insurance contract with charitable laxity. Merrill, 332 U.S. at 386, 68 S.Ct. 1. We agree with our sister circuits and conclude that the insured must adhere strictly to the requirements of the standard federal flood insurance policy before any monetary claim can be awarded against the government.