Timely Creditor Claim Required to Pursue Insurance and Employer Recoveries in Florida

Jeffrey Skatoff (Attorney, Florida) recently wrote an article titled, Timely Creditor Claim Required to Pursue Insurance and Employer Recoveries in Florida, on Probate Stars, July 2023. Provided below is an introduction to the article:

The Florida Supreme Court has resolved long-outstanding issues about whether a timely-filed creditor claim against a decedent’s estate is necessary to pursue recovery from an otherwise liable insurance company or an employer under a theory of vicarious liability.  In Tsuji v. Fleet, SC2021-1255 (Fla. 2023), the Florida Supreme Court held that a valid and timely lawsuit must be filed against a decedent as a prerequisite to recovery from an insurance company or an employer under a respondeat superior theory.

As explained by the Court, the Florida Probate Code contains two statutes of limitations for claims against decedent’s estates, 733.702 and 733.710.

The Court explained that 733.710(1) operates as a statute of repose or nonclaim.  Probate lawyers often refer to this provision as the creditor claim “brick wall.” …

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