Case Law Update: Advanced Diagnostic Group v. Progressive American, Third DCA Affirms Declaratory Relief Needs a Present Dispute

On September 3, 2026, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a Miami-Dade County Court ruling against Advanced Diagnostic Group in its suit against Progressive American Insurance Company. The case is Advanced Diagnostic Group v. Progressive American Insurance Company, No. 3D24-2062, an appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Lower Tribunal No. 23-152944-CC-26, Judge Miesha Shonta Darrough. The panel of Chief Judge Scales and Judges Logue and Bokor affirmed per curiam on declaratory judgment grounds, and the decision is not final until any timely filed motion for rehearing is resolved.

A two-page decision that still says something

The Third District did not write a full opinion here. It issued a per curiam affirmance supported by a single citation, which is a common way Florida appellate courts dispose of an appeal when existing law already answers the question. That format matters for how the decision should be read: the opinion does not recite the facts of the underlying dispute, describe the policy at issue, or explain what the provider was asking the county court to declare. Anyone trying to understand what actually happened between these parties has to go to the trial court record, not to this opinion.

What the opinion does supply is the legal ground for the affirmance. The court cited Treasure Chest Poker, LLC v. Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 238 So. 3d 338, 341 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), with a parenthetical describing that case as "holding that plaintiff's allegations were insufficient to entitle it to declaratory relief and that 'absent a bona fide need for a declaration based on present, ascertainable facts, the circuit court lacks jurisdiction to render declaratory relief.'" The quoted language inside that parenthetical comes from the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Santa Rosa County v. Administration Commission, Division of Administrative Hearings, 661 So. 2d 1190, 1193 (Fla. 1995).

The rule behind the citation

Florida's declaratory judgment statute, chapter 86, Florida Statutes, lets a party ask a court to declare rights under a contract, including an insurance policy, without waiting to be sued or to sue for damages. It is a genuinely useful tool. It is not, however, a way to obtain an advisory opinion.

The line the cited cases draw is between a live controversy and a hypothetical one. Under Santa Rosa County, a court needs a "bona fide need for a declaration based on present, ascertainable facts." Where a complaint rests on facts that have not happened yet, or on a disagreement the parties have not actually joined, the Florida decisions treat the problem as jurisdictional rather than as a mere pleading defect. That is why the parenthetical speaks in terms of the court lacking jurisdiction, which is a stronger conclusion than saying the complaint was poorly drafted.

What this means if you have a Florida first-party insurance claim

These are general observations about a short appellate decision, not advice about any particular claim, and every file turns on its own facts and its own policy language.

• A declaratory action against an insurer generally needs a concrete, already existing disagreement. A coverage position the carrier has actually taken, in writing, tends to look different to a court than a position a policyholder anticipates the carrier might take later.
• The facts pleaded do the work. Treasure Chest Poker turned on allegations being insufficient, so what a complaint actually alleges about the present dispute, rather than what the parties know informally, is what a court reviews.
• Because the defect described in these cases is framed as jurisdictional, it is the kind of issue that can surface late, including on appeal, and is not necessarily cured by the passage of time alone.
• Where a claim is pursued by an assignee rather than the policyholder, the assignee stands in the insured's position but litigates under the same rules. Nothing in this decision suggests a separate, easier path to declaratory relief for an assignee.
• A declaratory count is often filed alongside a breach of contract count. This decision addresses declaratory relief, and says nothing about the viability of a straightforward suit for benefits owed under a policy.

How to read a per curiam affirmance

A short affirmance with a citation is not a new rule of law and should not be described as one. It applies settled authority to a record the public opinion does not describe. It is still worth noting for Florida policyholders and claims professionals, because it shows the Third District applying the Santa Rosa County standard in a first-party insurance appeal in September 2026, and because the opinion remains subject to rehearing.

A note on scope

This appeal came out of the County Court for Miami-Dade County, whose civil jurisdiction is capped by section 34.01, Florida Statutes, so it was a smaller-value case than a typical residential property lawsuit. Advanced Diagnostic Group's other reported Florida appeals are provider suits against automobile insurers, and Progressive American Insurance Company appears in Florida appellate decisions in that same automobile context. This decision should therefore not be read as a residential property coverage ruling, and nothing here addresses homeowners policy language.

What does carry across contexts is the procedural point: chapter 86 declaratory relief in Florida requires a present, ascertainable dispute, whoever the insurer is. Readers can follow our running summaries of Florida insurance decisions on the Case Law & Industry Insights page.

Case: Advanced Diagnostic Group v. Progressive American Insurance Company, No. 3D24-2062 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 3, 2026), on appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Lower Tribunal No. 23-152944-CC-26. Counsel of record: Chad Barr Law and Chad A. Barr for the appellant; Kubicki Draper, P.A., Michael C. Clarke and Paz A. Garcia Griego for the appellee. Article current as of September 7, 2026.