MIGUEL PENA MONTES DE OCA AND PATRICIA OJEDA v. CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION ( 2022 )

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed January 19, 2022.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D20-0860
Lower Tribunal No. 17-28717
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Miguel Pena Montes de Oca and Patricia Ojeda,
Appellants,
vs.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Carlos
Guzman, Judge.
Alexander Appellate Law P.A., and Samuel Alexander (DeLand), for
appellants.
Paul R. Pearcy, P.A., and Maureen G. Pearcy, for appellee.
Before LOGUE, LINDSEY, and LOBREE, JJ.
LINDSEY, J.
Appellants Miguel Pena Montes de Oca and Patricia Ojeda, the
insured homeowners, appeal from a final judgment, following a jury trial, in
favor of Appellee Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Based on the record
before us, we find no reversible error and affirm. See Empire Pro
Restoration, Inc. v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., 322 So. 3d 96, 98 (Fla. 4th
DCA 2021) (“‘[A]n insured claiming under an all-risks policy has the burden
of proving that the insured property suffered a loss while the policy was in
effect. The burden then shifts to the insurer to prove that the cause of the
loss was excluded from coverage under the policy’s terms.’ [Kokhan v. Auto
Club Ins. Co. of Florida, 297 So. 3d 570, 572 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020)] (alteration
in original) (quoting Jones v. Federated Nat’l Ins. Co., 235 So. 3d 936, 941
(Fla. 4th DCA 2018)). ‘If there is an exception to the exclusion, the burden
once again is placed on the insured to demonstrate the exception to the
exclusion.’ E. Florida Hauling, Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 913 So. 2d 673, 678
(Fla. 3d DCA 2005) . . . .”). Given the specific facts in this case, any alleged
error with the jury instructions is harmless. See § 59.041, Fla. Stat. (2021)
(“No judgment shall be set aside or reversed, or new trial granted by any
court of the state in any cause, civil or criminal, on the ground of misdirection
of the jury . . . unless in the opinion of the court to which application is made,
after an examination of the entire case it shall appear that the error
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complained of has resulted in a miscarriage of justice. This section shall be
liberally construed.”).
Affirmed.
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