Courts are not Here to Rewrite Bargained for Contractual Provisions

“Courts cannot disregard agreed-upon, contractual provisions between parties. To do so would be to strike the…[contractual] obligations from the contract ‘by way of judicial fiat and the bargained-for contractual terms would be rendered surplusage.’” Peoples Trust Ins. Co. v. Amaro, 46 Fla.L.Weekly D1025a (3d DCA 2021). Courts are not here to rewrite negotiated contracts between the parties when, after-the-fact, one of the parties realizes they don’t like the terms of the contract. Doing so would be rendering certain terms or language as surplusage or unilaterally striking terms that had been bargained. Frankly, that would not be fair and defeat the very...

06 March

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Insurance Coverage Disputes where the Focus is the Policy Language

Posted by David Adelstein

in Standard of Review

Insurance coverage disputes are fairly common between an insured and his/her/its insurer. These are important disputes to an insured, particularly when they have been damaged and their insurer refuses to defend them from a third-party claim or otherwise denies coverage. An insured never wants to be in this position—understandably so. On the other hand, an insurance policy is not designed to cover every single risk under the sun as there are exclusions identified in policies for risks or perils that are not covered. This ultimately means an insured needs to have an appreciation of those risks or perils not covered...