Donovan Lovelock, from our Pensacola office, secured a summary judgment victory in Okaloosa County in a disputed wind and water damage claim.

The plaintiffs alleged an August 2023 wind loss, while the defense maintained there was no peril-created opening and that the conditions resulted from wear and tear. After the defense moved for summary judgment, the plaintiffs submitted expert evidence changing the date of loss to June 2023—a date before the policy was in effect. After the defense raised the resulting coverage issue, the plaintiffs’ expert changed the date of loss again, this time to August 28, 2023, while referencing additional weather data that was not produced to the defense.

At the hearing, the plaintiffs argued that the original summary judgment motion focused on the peril-created opening and wear-and-tear issues—not the timing and coverage questions created by their later filings—and that the defense should therefore be required to file an amended motion. Donovan successfully argued that the date of loss was undisputed when the motion was filed and only became an issue after the plaintiffs missed their response deadline and introduced a new date of loss. Requiring the defense to start the summary judgment process over based on issues first raised in an untimely response would effectively reward the plaintiffs for missing the deadline.

The Court agreed, and granted summary judgment for the defense.

A sanctions hearing remains pending, with approximately $20,000 in defense fees at issue.