Eurys Gamez v. ACE America Insurance Company

Case Summary: 11-cv-22842

Plaintiff Eurys Gamez, a Florida resident, alleges breach of contract by defendant ACE American Insurance Company, with its principle place of business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Plaintiff filed suit in the Southern District of Florida on the basis of diversity jurisdiction and seeks damages and attorneys’ fees.

According to the complaint, Defendant issued an insurance policy for Plaintiff’s 32 foot motorboat. During the policy’s effective period, the entire vessel, containing various personal effects of Gamez, and its trailer were stolen. Defendant refused to pay Plaintiff for the loss of the vessel and trailer, which allegedly breached the terms of the insurance contract.

Defendant argued that it was not required to pay on the claim for three reasons. First, Plaintiff failed to provide proper notice of the loss to Defendant as required in the contract. Second, Plaintiff fraudulently misrepresented material facts during the investigation with the intent of defrauding Defendant. And finally, Plaintiff was using the vessel as part of dishonest or illegal acts at the time the vessel was stolen.

This video shows the jury trial that began on September 9, 2013 to decide whether Defendant had breached the insurance contract. The jury rendered its verdict in favor of Defendant on September 17, 2013, finding that Plaintiff intentionally misrepresented a material fact or circumstance related to the insurance contract.

Case Highlights

• Complaint filed 8/06/2011 (Doc #1)
• Answer filed 9/19/2011 (Doc #8)
• Jury trial held 9/9-9/16/2013
• Final judgment in favor of Defendant 9/17/2013 (Doc #134)

Case-related documents, including those referenced above, are available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. For more information, visit Pacer.gov.