{"id":905273,"date":"2026-01-16T15:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=905273"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:44:14","slug":"breach-of-contract-dont-put-the-suit-before-the-proof","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/breach-of-contract-dont-put-the-suit-before-the-proof\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Put the Suit Before the Proof: Bailetti\u2019s Message on Premature Breach Suits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Shannon Alfonso | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.butler.legal\/dont-put-the-suit-before-the-proof-bailettis-message-on-premature-breach-suits\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Florida\u2019s First District Court of Appeals delivered a clear warning to policyholders and their counsel in\u00a0<em>Bailetti v. Universal Property &amp; Cas. Ins. Co<\/em>., \u2014 So. 3d \u2014, 2025 WL 2845101 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 8, 2025): a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/comparative-breach-of-contract\/\">breach of contract<\/a> suit must be grounded in a breach that exists at filing, not one manufactured later through litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After Hurricane Sally damaged the insureds\u2019 Pensacola home, Universal inspected the home, prepared an actual cash value (ACV) estimate, and paid the ACV estimate in accordance with the policy\u2019s loss-settlement provision and section 627.7011(3)(a), Florida Statutes. Four months later, the insureds sued\u2014before performing repairs, before submitting invoices to recover depreciation, and before providing a competing ACV estimate. Years afterward, on the eve of and during trial, they produced expert valuation. The First District Court of Appeals (\u201cFirst DCA\u201d) affirmed a defense verdict, holding that the insureds\u2019 \u201cfailed to show that as of June 2021, when they filed their breach of contract action, Universal had breached the insurance policy.\u201d In other words, litigation-created estimates, which were prepared years after the loss, could not retroactively manufacture a breach, and replacement cost value (RCV) remains payable only as repairs are performed and expenses incurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Bailetti<\/em>&nbsp;relied upon, and fits squarely within, the First DCA\u2019s framework articulated in&nbsp;<em>Homeowner\u2019s Choice Property &amp; Cas. Ins. Co. v. Clark<\/em>, 410 So. 3d 99 (Fla. 1st DCA 2025). Clark explains that an insurer\u2019s initial duty is to pay at least the ACV of the insured loss and, once that payment is made, the burden shifts to the insured to timely demonstrate that the ACV payment was insufficient; RCV is owed only after costs are incurred under the policy and statute. Additionally, the&nbsp;<em>Bailetti<\/em>&nbsp;ruling relies on&nbsp;<em>Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Salazar<\/em>, 388 So. 3d 115 (Fla. 3d DCA 2023) and&nbsp;<em>Universal Property &amp; Cas. Ins. Co. v. Qureshi<\/em>, 396 So. 3d 564 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024), which hold that, where an insured offers only RCV evidence or fails to present competent proof that the actual cash value exceeded the insurer\u2019s payment, no additional amount is owed and no breach occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Filing suit without first creating a timely, evidence-based dispute over ACV and without satisfying the contractual conditions to recover depreciation is premature. Florida assesses breach at the time plaintiff brings the action, not at trial, and the ACV-then-RCV structure dictates both the sequence and the proof required.&nbsp;<em>Bailetti<\/em>, reinforced by&nbsp;<em>Clark, Salazar<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>Qureshi<\/em>, underscores a disciplined order for Florida property claims: the insurer pays ACV, the insured must promptly substantiate any shortfall, and RCV follows when expenses are actually incurred. Skip those steps, and a breach claim is simply an attempt to cash a check that has not been written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes &#8211; please call Advise &amp; Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email <a href=\"mailto:experts@adviseandconsult.net\">experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shannon Alfonso | Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig Florida\u2019s First District Court of Appeals delivered a clear warning to policyholders and their counsel in\u00a0Bailetti v. Universal Property &amp; Cas. Ins. Co., \u2014 So. 3d \u2014, 2025 WL 2845101 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 8, 2025): a breach of contract suit must be grounded in a breach that&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/breach-of-contract-dont-put-the-suit-before-the-proof\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Don\u2019t Put the Suit Before the Proof: Bailetti\u2019s Message on Premature Breach Suits<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[9895,158,224],"class_list":["post-905273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-contracts","tag-advise-consult","tag-breach-of-contract","tag-construction-contract","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Don\u2019t Put the Suit Before the Proof: Bailetti\u2019s Message on Premature Breach Suits - Advise &amp; 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