Opinion ID: 76737
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Does Florida law provide for a bad-faith action against sureties?

Text: 14 Fla. Stat. § 624.155(1)(b)(1) states that any person may bring a civil suit against an insurer when the insurer does not act in good faith to settle claims when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for her or his interests. Dadeland argues that the plain language of this statute indicates that a surety is subject to a bad-faith suit because it applies to acts of an insurer and the Florida legislature has defined insurer to include sureties. See Fla. Stat. § 624.03. 15 However, the Florida Supreme Court has also stated that § 624.155(1)(b)(1) permits actions only by insureds — the person or entity to whom the insurer owes a duty. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Zebrowski, 706 So.2d 275, 277 (Fla.1997). The Sureties point out that neither the Florida courts nor the Florida legislature has specifically stated whether the obligee of a surety bond is considered an insured for purposes of bringing suit under this statute. Therefore, before we can determine whether this case was properly dismissed, we must first determine if this statute provides a right of action for obligees to sue their sureties for bad faith. Thus, we certify the following question to the Supreme Court of Florida: 16 IS THE OBLIGEE OF A SURETY CONTRACT CONSIDERED AN INSURED SUCH THAT THE OBLIGEE HAS THE RIGHT TO SUE THE SURETY FOR BAD-FAITH REFUSAL TO SETTLE CLAIMS UNDER § 624.155(1)(b)(1)? 17