A recent case out of the Middle District of Florida, The Peninsula at St. John’s Center Condominium Association, Inc. v. Amerisure Ins. Co., 2025 WL 1547631 (M.D.Fla. 2025) discusses what a party must do to RIGHTFULLY recover under a Coblentz agreement under Florida law:

“In Florida, a party seeking to recover under a Coblentz agreement must prove: (1) coverage; (2) a wrongful refusal to defend; and (3) that the settlement was objectively reasonable and made in good faith. “Florida law clearly states that liability of an insurer depends upon whether the insured’s claim is within the coverage of the policy. This remains true even when the insurer has unjustifiably failed to defend its insured in the underlying action.” “A determination of coverage, therefore, is a condition precedent to any recovery against an insurer.”

The party seeking recovery has the burden “to allocate the settlement amount between covered and uncovered claims.” “[A]n insurer faced with a Coblentz action has the right to litigate its contractual duty to indemnify on the actual facts of the underlying litigation just as it would in an action against its insured.” Once the party seeking to recover under a Coblentz agreement has established coverage and allocated damages amounts between covered and uncovered claims, the burden shifts to the defendant who must then prove that either the Coblentz agreement was unreasonable or was negotiated in bad faith.

Id. At *5 (internal citations omitted).