NORTHCUTT, Judge.
Robert and Darlene Curtis sued Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co. in a dispute over a sinkhole insurance claim. They appeal a final summary judgment in favor of Tower Hill. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
The Curtises owned a home that was insured under a policy issued by Tower Hill.
After receiving the repair estimates obtained by the Curtises, Tower Hill initiated a neutral evaluation, a statutory procedure applicable to sinkhole claims and referenced in the policy's sinkhole endorsement. The property owners then filed suit in circuit court. Their complaint alleged, in part, that the insurance company "denied the claim as a sinkhole loss and/or refused to honor the claim or pay benefits to the Plaintiffs or loss payees/third-party beneficiaries as provided for in the insurance policy." In response to the complaint, Tower Hill filed three separate motions for summary judgment. The circuit court granted two of the motions and denied the third. Final judgment was thereafter entered in favor of Tower Hill.
We review summary judgments de novo, see Trinidad v. Fla. Peninsula Ins. Co., 121 So.3d 433, 437 (Fla.2013), applying the well-established standard that "[s]ummary judgment is proper if there is no genuine issue of material fact and if the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law," Volusia Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P., 760 So.2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000). For the following reasons, we conclude that Tower Hill's summary judgment motions were not well taken.
The two motions granted by the circuit court were captioned "No Payment Owed" and "Violation of Section 627.7074(10), Florida Statutes, and `Suit Against Us' Provision," respectively. In the former motion, Tower Hill maintained that the claim was not ripe because no payment was due under the policy and, therefore, it had not breached the contract of insurance. This motion was based on the "Loss Payment" provision in the Florida endorsement, which provided as follows:
Tower Hill relies on Geico General Insurance Co. v. Graci, 849 So.2d 1196, 1199 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), for the proposition that "[a]n insurer's refusal to meet an insured's demand for payment under a policy is not a breach if no payment is then
Graci was a venue case, and it analyzed the plaintiff's cause of action to determine where it accrued for venue purposes. Id. at 1197. The Fourth District held that the claim was not for breach of contract; rather, it noted that the insured alleged an action "for a determination of her entitlement to, and amount of, damages." Id. at 1197. "Although Graci's action against Geico is, indeed, an action on the contract of insurance, it is not an action for a breach of that contract; rather, it is an action filed pursuant to the contract." Id. at 1199. Thus, the cause of action accrued in the county where the accident occurred.
Here, the Curtises filed an action on the insurance contract to determine their entitlement to and amount of damages. The loss-payment provision of the policy did not render the suit premature; indeed, that provision expressly contemplated that there might be a final judgment — presumably stemming from a lawsuit — before payment was due. But certainly, even when an insurance suit is filed prematurely, final summary judgment would not be the appropriate remedy where, as here, the insurance company has admitted coverage. See Shuck v. Bank of Am., N.A., 862 So.2d 20, 24-25 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (discussing circumstances when premature suits should be either abated or dismissed without prejudice). The circuit court erred in granting this motion for summary judgment. See Panjikaran v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 77 So.3d 1278, 1280 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (reversing summary judgment when it was "unclear whether the parties dispute the amount of loss or a denial of coverage").
Tower Hill's other successful summary judgment motion contended that, by filing suit just after the insurer initiated a neutral evaluation, the Curtises violated the stay imposed by the neutral evaluation statute and breached the "Suit Against Us" provision in the insurance contract.
The legislature has established a statutory neutral evaluation process applicable to sinkhole insurance claims. The statute includes a stay provision that provides as follows: "Regardless of when noticed, any court proceeding related to the subject matter of the neutral evaluation shall be stayed pending completion of the neutral evaluation and for 5 days after the filing of the neutral evaluator's report with the court." § 627.7074(10), Fla. Stat. (2011).
As seen, the circuit court erred by granting summary judgment on the two motions described. We must also discuss the motion that was denied. In a motion captioned "Failure to Satisfy Post-Loss Obligations," Tower Hill asserted that the Curtises breached the policy by failing to comply with a duty after loss and that this breach negated any recovery under the policy. It advances this argument on appeal as a right-for-the-wrong-reason rationale for affirming the summary judgment. See Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Radio Station WQBA, 731 So.2d 638, 644-45 (Fla.1999) (stating the "tipsy coachman" rule).
The insurance policy's Florida endorsement imposed on the insured certain "duties after loss," including a duty to "show the damaged property" "as often as [Tower Hill] reasonably require[d]."
The circuit court correctly denied summary judgment on this ground for two reasons. First, Tower Hill did not show that it was prejudiced by the Curtises' lack of cooperation, which is required before an insured may be held to have forfeited benefits by materially breaching the insurance policy's cooperation clause. See Am. Fire & Cas. Co. v. Collura, 163 So.2d 784, 792-94 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964) (distinguishing breach of notice-of-claim condition, where prejudice to insurer is presumed, from breach of cooperation condition, where insurer must show it was substantially prejudiced by material breach, notwithstanding that policy purported to classify cooperation condition as condition precedent); see also Bankers Ins. Co. v. Macias, 475 So.2d 1216 (Fla. 1985).
Second, the Curtises partially complied by cooperating with the investigation by Tower Hill's engineer on the more significant aspect of damages. "[I]f the insured cooperates to some degree or explains his failure to comply, whether the insured materially breached the policy remains a question for the fact finder." Jyurovat v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 84 So.3d 1238, 1241 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012); see also Makryllos v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., 103 So.3d 1032, 1034 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) ("Such partial cooperation can raise a fact question concerning whether the insurer should be able to declare a breach of the insurance contract that precludes recovery.").
We reverse the summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.
KHOUZAM and SLEET, JJ., Concur.