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 | You Restorations LLC a/a/o De Leon v. First Protective Insurance Company (Frontline) |
|---|---|
| Court | Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal |
| Citation | No. 4D2024-1553 |
| Decided | July 23, 2025 |
| Who is involved | A restoration company suing as assignee, against First Protective Insurance Company, which trades as Frontline. |
| What happened | Notice came 694 days after the windstorm. The insurer denied on late notice and prejudice, and its engineer found normal wear and tear. Summary judgment for the insurer was affirmed. |
| Where | Florida |
| When | Windstorm April 26, 2020. Notice about 694 days later. |
| Why it came out that way | A delay that long triggers the presumption of prejudice, and the engineering finding on causation went with it. |
| The holding | Affirmed for the insurer. |
Our reading of the document above, not the court's words.
For the insurance company
The two grounds feed each other. Every month of delay strengthens the wear-and-tear theory, because weathering keeps accumulating on unrepaired damage while the link to the storm date decays.
For the homeowner
Delay was the whole case. It created the notice defense and manufactured the evidence for the causation defense at the same time.
- 1 Report the loss now, in writing, even if you believe it is too late.
- 2 Florida now sets the notice deadline by statute: 1 year, and 18 months for a supplemental claim (Fla. Stat. 627.70132).
- 3 Assemble anything that dates the damage to the storm before the roof weathers any further.
You Restorations LLC a/a/o De Leon v. First Protective Ins. Co., No. 4D2024-1553 (Fla. 4th DCA July 23, 2025) 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.
Six hundred ninety-four days between the windstorm and the notice of claim, and the denial letter wrote itself: late reporting prejudiced the investigation, and the engineer who finally did inspect found normal wear and tear. The Fourth DCA affirmed for the carrier.
The two grounds feed each other, which is the letter’s quiet design. Every month of delay makes the wear-and-tear theory stronger, because weathering accumulates on the unrepaired damage and the evidentiary trail to the storm date decays. By day 694 the carrier’s engineer is describing the roof accurately, and the storm that started the damage is unprovable. Florida has since made the window explicit, 1 year to notice a claim under Fla. Stat. 627.70132, but this opinion shows the common-law machinery that punished delay before the statute did. The archive files it under both reasons because the letter used both, in the order time handed them over.
You Restorations LLC a/a/o De Leon v. First Protective Ins. Co., No. 4D2024-1553 (Fla. 4th DCA July 23, 2025) · 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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