Federal Judge Says RICO Lawsuit vs. United P&C Must be Revised

A federal judge in Tampa has ordered a roofing contractor to revise its lawsuit complaint, which alleges racketeering law violations against United Property & Casualty Co., after the original complaint failed to meet federal court rules.

“Upon review, the Court finds this complaint constitutes an impermissible shotgun pleading,” U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle wrote this month.

Specifically, the judge said, SFR Services alleges that United violated multiple laws but the contractor failed to separate the allegations into individual counts. “Worse still, Count IV speculates that United Property violated other unnamed provisions of Florida law, which patently fails to satisfy the pleading requirements…”

Such a vague complaint does not give the defense adequate notice of the grounds for the claims, Mizelle noted. SFR Services, represented by Coral Gables attorney Robert Pelier and others, has until Wednesday, Jan. 26 to refile the lawsuit.

The case has gained attention across the state, and may be one of the first to allege violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as the RICO Act, by a property insurer. The initial complaint charged that United worked with its desk adjusters to revise field adjusters’ reports and to discount or deny many assignment-of-benefits claims.

United, which has not yet filed an answer to the complaint, also pressured field adjuster firms to avoid reporting some roof damage altogether after Hurricane Irma in 2017, the original lawsuit charges.