This is a court’s written decision. The judges had the claim file in front of them, and where they quote the insurer’s denial language, that quotation is part of the official record of the case.
Everything quoted below is read off that document. The reading of what it means for each side is ours, and it is marked as such.
| Case | Full Pro Restoration a/a/o Fernandez v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation |
|---|---|
| Court | Florida Third District Court of Appeal |
| Citation | No. 3D21-2312 |
| Decided | March 15, 2023 |
| Who is involved | A restoration company suing as assignee of a Miami homeowner, against Citizens. |
| What happened | Citizens denied interior water damage as wear and tear and deterioration of the roof. Summary judgment for Citizens was affirmed. |
| Where | Miami-Dade County, Florida |
| When | Hurricane Irma, September 10, 2017. |
| Why it came out that way | The carrier's inspection finding on causation went unanswered by competing expert evidence. |
| The holding | Affirmed for Citizens. |
Our reading of the document above, not the court's words.
For the insurance company
One inspection report, worded as a causation finding, converts a covered peril into an excluded condition. It costs the price of an inspection.
For the homeowner
The cautionary entry in this archive. The claim was not lost because the roof was old. It was lost because the record held only one expert opinion about why the roof failed, and it belonged to the insurer.
- 1 A wear-and-tear finding is an opinion, and opinions are answered with opinions, not with argument.
- 2 Read Morales, decided by the same court, alongside this one. Same argument, opposite result, and the difference is a contractor's affidavit.
Full Pro Restoration a/a/o Fernandez v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., No. 3D21-2312 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 15, 2023) Read the document ↗
Case summaries are drafted from the document and have not been reviewed by counsel; verify against the current docket before relying on any of it. Not legal advice; consult an attorney about your specific claim.
The cautionary entry. Citizens denied an Irma roof and interior water claim on a wear-and-tear inspection finding, the policyholder’s side did not put competing expert evidence into the record, and the Third DCA affirmed judgment for Citizens.
The archive exists because letters like this win by default when they go unanswered. A wear-and-tear finding is an expert opinion, and it is beaten by a better-documented expert opinion: dated photos, storm wind data at the address, and an inspection that ties the damage pattern to the wind event. Without that file, the carrier’s inspection is the only evidence a court sees.
Full Pro Restoration a/a/o Fernandez v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp., No. 3D21-2312 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 15, 2023) · public record ↗
Quotes are verbatim from the cited public record. Case status and statute summaries drafted August 2026; verify against the current docket and statute. Not legal advice; consult an attorney about your specific claim.
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