Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Bell, Bell
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledAugust 14, 2026
Docket2D2025-1483
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
UNIVERSAL PROPERTY & CASUALTY INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Appellant,
v.
WILLIAM BELL and DENISE BELL,
Appellees.
No. 2D2025-1483
August 14, 2026
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pasco County; Susan Barthle, Judge.
David A. Noel and Kara Rockenbach Link of Link & Rockenbach, PA,
West Palm Beach, for Appellant.
Raymond T. Elligett, Jr., and Amy S. Farrior of Buell Elligett Farrior &
Faircloth, P.A., Tampa; and Dean Makris of Makris & Mullinax, P.A.,
Tampa, for Appellees.
PER CURIAM.
Affirmed. See Buis v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins., 394 So. 3d 738,
740 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024) ("Accepting the presumption that enforcement of
section 627.70152[, Florida Statutes,] in this case constitutes retroactive
application of the statute, we conclude, as did the Sixth District, that the
requisite legislative intent for such retroactive application is lacking.");
Priest v. State Farm Fla. Ins., 51 Fla. L. Weekly D1014, D1015 (Fla. 1st
DCA May 20, 2026) ("Because of the structure of the provision in
question here—the context surrounding the phrase 'all suits,' the
existence of an effective date, and the Legislature's choice of 'suits' rather
than 'policies' as the operative noun—section 627.70152 does not
contain evidence clearly expressing any legislative intent of retroactive
application."); Smith v. Universal Prop. & Cas. Ins., 396 So. 3d 860, 861
(Fla. 5th DCA 2024) ("We adopt the rationale and reasoning of our sister
courts from the Second and Sixth Districts and, for the reasons relied
upon in these opinions, hold that it was error to apply section 627.70152
retroactively to the Smiths' policy in this case."); Hughes v. Universal
Prop. & Cas. Ins., 374 So. 3d 900, 910 (Fla. 6th DCA 2023) ("Florida
Supreme Court precedent requires us to hold that section 627.70152
does not apply retroactively to insurance policies entered into before the
statute's effective date . . . ."), review granted, No. SC2024-0025, 2024
WL 1714497 (Fla. Apr. 22, 2024).
Additionally, as this court did in Buis, we certify conflict with
Cantens v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's London, 388 So. 3d 242 (Fla.
3d DCA 2024), and Cole v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance, 363
So. 3d 1089 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023). We also certify conflict with Universal
Property & Casualty Insurance v. Griffin, 51 Fla. L. Weekly D352 (Fla. 4th
DCA Feb. 25, 2026), conflict certified, 51 Fla. L. Weekly D850 (Fla. 4th
DCA Apr. 22, 2026) (first certifying conflict with Hughes, 374 So. 3d 900;
then Buis, 394 So. 3d 738; and then Smith, 396 So. 3d 860).
Affirmed; conflict certified.
SILBERMAN, ATKINSON, and GUARD, JJ., Concur.
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Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
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