Act Of God Defense In An Era Of Climate Change

A Miami judge’s certification of a lawsuit against Florida’s largest utility company as a $10 billion class action, with damage claims from more than 4 million people who lost power in Hurricane Irma, could have significant repercussions for self-insurers and insurance companies in the years ahead.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Miller issued the order last month, noting that the plaintiffs had shown that the case meets all requirements for a class action.

The plaintiffs allege that Florida Power & Light was negligent and breached its contract with customers by failing to fully prepare for the storm or to ‘harden the system,’ despite collecting a surcharge for that purpose.

‘Plaintiffs are not claiming that FPL is an insurer against hurricanes, nor will class status produce that result,’ the judge wrote.

‘Instead, plaintiffs seek class-wide management over a basic contractual issue’—whether the utility failed to honor its promise to use reasonable diligence at all times.