Florida appeals court wipes out a $335K cast-iron pipe verdict for having no basis in evidence
Archive story from the 2026-07-25 edition. This is the reporting as filed; source publication and event dates may differ. Check the dated storyline for subsequent developments.
A jury awarded $335,000 RCV / $305,000 ACV on a water-damage claim. The restoration company's estimate was $79,680 RCV / $50,220 ACV; the carrier's plumber pegged repairs near $12,000. The appeals court struck the award as "several times higher than the only admitted valuation evidence", a textbook remittitur, because no testimony supported a number that high.
Why it matters
This is the cast-iron-pipe tear-out fight, and it's a warning about your estimate as evidence. When the spread between your scope and the carrier's is enormous and the jury runs past even your own number, appellate courts will erase it. Your documentation and expert basis are what hold a verdict up on appeal, not the jury's sympathy.
Our assessment
The lesson everyone takes is that juries hand out fantasy numbers. The real failure was that nobody could tie the award to a line item, so the whole thing came apart on appeal, including the contractor's honest estimate. Scope so tightly that the estimate is the evidence: every line supported by a photo, a measurement or a test result, with no daylight for a court to strike.
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Trade press reporting a state appellate decision. High confidence at publication
How we got here
Storyline: coverage law 9 stories so far
- 2 earlier stories on this storyline
- Coverage-law rulings this month (four that touch your scopes)
- Carriers are using "wear and tear" to dodge appraisal entirely
- Coverage law: is a metal-roof hail endorsement "largely illusory"? (TX federal court)
- Coverage law: nine lessons for Palisades/Altadena wildfire-smoke claims (Pollock v. Federal)
- Florida claims lawsuits down to ~half of 2020 levels, reform is "working"
- Ohio Supreme Court: once you sign the appraisal award, it's closed, even if you find more damage
- Florida appeals court wipes out a $335K cast-iron pipe verdict for having no basis in evidence You are here