(1) Any person damaged by a violation of the provisions of this part may bring a civil action against a person violating such provisions in the circuit court of the county in which the alleged violator resides or has her or his principal place of business or in the county in which the alleged violation occurred. Upon adverse adjudication, the defendant will be liable for actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, together with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the plaintiff.
(2) No punitive damages may be awarded under this section unless the acts giving rise to the violation occur with such frequency as to indicate a general business practice and these acts are:

(a) Willful, wanton, and malicious; or

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 634.433

  • association: means any person, other than an authorized insurer, issuing service warranties. See Florida Statutes 634.401
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Insurer: means any property or casualty insurer duly authorized to transact such business in this state. See Florida Statutes 634.401
  • Person: includes an individual, company, corporation, association, insurer, agent, and any other legal entity. See Florida Statutes 634.401
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Service warranty: means any warranty, guaranty, extended warranty or extended guaranty, maintenance service contract equal to or greater than 1 year in length or which does not meet the exemption in paragraph (a), 1contract agreement, or other written promise for a specific duration to perform the repair, replacement, or maintenance of a consumer product, or for indemnification for repair, replacement, or maintenance, for operational or structural failure due to a defect in materials or workmanship, normal wear and tear, power surge, or accidental damage from handling in return for the payment of a segregated charge by the consumer; however:
    (a) Maintenance service contracts written for less than 1 year which do not contain provisions for indemnification and which do not provide a discount to the consumer for any combination of parts and labor in excess of 20 percent during the effective period of such contract, motor vehicle service agreements, transactions exempt under…. See Florida Statutes 634.401
(b) In reckless disregard for the rights of any insured.

Any person who pursues a claim under this subsection shall post in advance the costs of discovery. Such costs shall be awarded to the insurer if no punitive damages are awarded to the plaintiff.

(3) As a condition precedent to bringing an action under this section, the department and the insurer shall be given written notice of the violation. The notice shall state with specificity the facts which allegedly constitute the violation and the law upon which the plaintiff is relying and shall state that such notice is given in order to perfect the right to pursue the civil remedy authorized by this section. No action will lie if, within 30 days thereafter, the damages are paid or the circumstances giving rise to the violation are corrected.
(4) This section shall not be construed to authorize a class action suit against a service warranty association or a civil action against the department, the office, their employees, or the Chief Financial Officer.