On July 7, 2021, in Silversmith v. State Farm Insurance Company, No. 4D20-2685, the Florida Fourth DCAreversed a trial court ruling and held that a homeowner’s insurance appraiser inspecting the plaintiff’s home had no legitimate expectation of privacy that would have precluded the homeowner’s recording of the inspection. The insuredhad filed a claim under the policy and the insurance company has invoked its right of appraisal. The insured then filed had filed a declaratory judgment action in circuit court seeking a declaratory judgment that she had the right to audio/video record the appraiser’s inspection of the home even though the appraiser objected. The trial court denied her motion for summary judgment, ruling that under Fla. Stat. § 934.04 the recording could not be made unless all the participants consented. In support of its reversal, the Fourth DCA noted that for an oral conversation to be protected under § 934.03 the speaker must have an actual subjective expectation of privacy, along with a societal recognition that the expectation is reasonable, citing State v. Smith, 641 So. 2d 849, 852 (Fla. 1994) (concluding that a person did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy while seated in the back of a police car).
