Reference, don’t enter.

FLORIDA LAW WEEKLY

VOLUME 50, NUMBER 27

CASES FROM THE WEEK OF JULY 11, 2025

ERROR TO ENTER JUDGMENT FOR THE “NET” JURY VERDICT WHERE THE PLAINTIFF’S BAD FAITH CLAIM WAS STILL PENDING – COURT MUST ENTER A JUDGMENT WITHIN THE POLICY LIMITS, AND MAY ONLY REFERENCE THE NET VERDICT AS THE MEASURE OF DAMAGES—DAMAGES BECOME RECOVERABLE IF THE PLAINTIFF LATER PREVAILS ON BAD FAITH CLAIM

State Farm v. Hudnall, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D1454 (Fla. 5th DCA July 3, 2025):

The plaintiff obtained a jury verdict in a case against her uninsured motorist carrier. The trial court entered a judgment for the net jury verdict. However, because the plaintiff’s bad faith claim had not yet resolved, the court restricted execution of the judgment to the $100,000 uninsured motorist coverage limits plus any accrued interest thereon.

The Florida Supreme Court has held that before litigating a first-party bad faith claim in an uninsured motorist case, the insured is entitled to a jury “determination” of liability and the full extent of his or her damages, which may be in excess of the policy limits.

This determination is then binding on the subsequent bad faith action, provided the parties have had the opportunity for appellate review of any timely raised errors alleged. To facilitate appellate review, the trial court conducts a jury trial, includes the verdict amount in the final judgment, and then reserves jurisdiction to consider a motion from the plaintiff to add a claim for bad faith.

Including the verdict amount in the final judgment does not mean actually entering judgment for the net verdict. Instead, the judgment must be within the policy limits and may only “reference” the net verdict as the measure of damages which may be recovered if the plaintiff later prevails on the bad faith claim.

The court referenced State Farm v. Finson, 385 So. 3d196,198 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024) where the Court discussed at length why this procedure aligns with the statutory and decisional law governing uninsured motorist cases.

Therefore, a trial court should not enter a judgment for the net verdict while the plaintiff’s bad faith claim was pending; the judgment should merely “reference” the net verdict amount.