Congratulations to Caryn Bellus and Angela Flowers for obtaining an affirmance of a motion to dismiss with prejudice in Bel-Mac Roofing, Inc. v. Bridgefield Employers Ins. Co. and Summit Consulting, LLC, 1D20-1502 (1st DCA Nov. 18, 2022).
Caryn and Angela represented a workers’ compensation carrier and its administrator against claims for coverage, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary and implied duty, and indemnification brought by an insured employer who had been sued in federal court for violations of the Fair Labor Standards ACT (“FLSA”), Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUPTA”), and other federal wage and labor laws. The First District agreed that the trial court properly dismissed a 10-count complaint with prejudice, where neither the workers’ compensation nor the employers’ liability coverage was triggered by the allegations in the federal complaint. The First District also agreed that the trial court properly dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action because, as a matter of law, neither the workers’ compensation carrier nor the administrator owed the plaintiff employer extra-contractual duties.