When the Nationwide policy was due to expire for non-payment of premium, Nationwide provided Smith with a grace period which allowed him to avoid cancellation of his automobile insurance policy for nonpayment of premium if he made the overdue premium payment before 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, September 25, 2005. The trial court concluded that since the last day of the grace period fell on a Sunday, the payment deadline was extended to the next business day, Monday, September 26, 2005, by operation of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090(a), which governs the computation of statutory time periods absent specific provisions to the contrary. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the insured, finding that the payment had been timely. Nationwide appealed.

On appeal, the First DCA held that it was error to utilize the 'grace period' of Rule 1.090 to a deadline that is not established by statute, stating, "By extending the payment deadline to the next business day, the trial court stacked "grace" upon "grace," which cannot be done by implication under contract law. See State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Green, 500 So. 2d 563, 564 (Fla. 2d DCA1986)."

As it turns out, the insured's payment had still been timely, as it had been received by Nationwide's bank before the deadline. The delay in the deposit to Nationwide's account was a result of the bank's processing. Accordingly, the First DCA found that the payment had been timely and the summary judgment was affirmed.

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