Edward B. Henry v. State Florida

Claude Roberts and the carrier of his homeowners insurance policy, State Farm Fire and Casualty Co., have asked us to review the rejection of their defense of assumption of risk in a personal injury lawsuit, and an award of attorneys fees against State Farm for its denial of coverage. We granted certiorari to resolve decisional conflicts among Florida appellate decisions on these points. The first point was recently resolved against Roberts and State Farm by our decision in Blackburn v. Dorta, 348 So.2d 287 (Fla. 1977). We, therefore, limit our discussion to the attorneys fees question.