Duty to Defend in Florida

It is well settled Florida law that the threshold determination regarding a liability insurer’s duty to defend depends solely upon the allegations contained within the four corners of the complaint against the insured. Jones v. Florida Ins. Guar. Assoc., Inc., 908 So.2d 435 (Fla. 2005). If the complaint alleges facts that fairly and potentially bring the suit within the coverage afforded by the policy, the insurer must defend the action. Jones at 442-43.

“However, while any doubts regarding the duty to defend must be resolved in favor of the insured, ‘[a]n insurer has no duty to defend a lawsuit where the underlying complaint does not allege facts that would bring the complaint within the coverage of the policy.’” Bradfield v. Mid-Continent Cas. Co., 143 F. Supp. 3d 1215, 1231-32 (M.D. Fla. 2015), quoting Auto–Owners Ins. Co. v. Marvin Dev. Corp., 805 So.2d 888, 891 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 2001).

Additionally, “[i]f the pleadings show the applicability of a policy exclusion, the insurer has no duty to defend.” Sierra Auto Ctr., Inc. v. Granada Ins. Co., 317 So. 3d 1220, 1222 (Fla. 3^rd DCA 2021), review dismissed, No. SC21-843, 2021 WL 3855694 (Fla. Aug. 30, 2021), quoting Wilshire Ins. Co. v. Poinciana Grocer, Inc., 151 So. 3d 55, 57 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014).

Lastly, Florida courts have recognized a limited exception to the four corners rule in special circumstances and will allow consideration of extrinsic facts where they are undisputed, and had they been pled in the complaint, they clearly would have placed the claims outside the scope of coverage. BBG Design Build, LLC v. S. Owners Ins. Co., 820 F. App’x 962, 965 (11th Cir. 2020), citing Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. Keen, 658 So. 2d 1101 (Fla 4th DCA 1995)).