Bretton Albrecht, of our Ft. Lauderdale office, recently prevailed in getting four trial court orders confirming appraisal awards in four related cases overturned. In State Farm Florida Insurance Company v. Roof Pros Storm Division, Inc. a/a/o Jesse Scott, 2022 WL 2374147 (Fla. 5th DCA July 1, 2022), four separate homeowners insured with State Farm filed claims for storm-related roof damage. Each homeowner assigned his/her/their policy rights over to Roof Pros, and in each claim, appraisal was sought after State Farm and Roof Pros could not agree on the amount of damages. The appraisal clause in each applicable State Farm policy stated that each party may select its own appraiser, the appraisers then must agree on an umpire, and if they cannot, then they may ask a judge to select the umpire. The parties could not agree as to an umpire, so petitions were filed for each claim in the lower courts, asking the courts to appoint an umpire in each matter. The lower courts ultimately entered final judgments confirming appraisal awards in each claim, and State Farm timely appealed. On appeal, State Farm took the position that the lowers courts lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear these cases as pleaded and to enter a final judgment because these actions did not seek damages, alleged no jurisdictional amount in controversy, and lacked the essential allegations to support a declaratory judgment or breach of contract action. The Fifth District Court of Appeal agreed, reversing the lower courts’ rulings.