A Florida judge has effectively dismissed a lawsuit accusing former Lighthouse Property Insurance executives of misleading investors about losses tied to Hurricane Ida. Orange County Circuit Judge Chad Alvaro granted summary judgment on Aug. 31 in favor of former Lighthouse CEO Patrick White and his father, Lawrence White.
The dispute centered on capital raised by Lighthouse after Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana in 2021. Investment firms alleged the Whites concealed the extent of the insurer’s losses while seeking additional funding.
Judge Alvaro found that a 2021 note purchase agreement barred the remaining plaintiffs from pursuing the first three counts of their complaint. The investors had released claims they otherwise might have held when they entered the agreement, according to the order.
The court also rejected a fourth count seeking a constructive trust. Alvaro wrote that the remedy wasn’t available without an underlying cause of action supporting it.
Fortinbras Enterprises, founded by Ben Black, originally brought the case alongside other investment firms. Fortinbras later withdrew, leaving HT Investments and two Silver Rock funds as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit alleged Patrick and Lawrence White failed to disclose the scale of Hurricane Ida losses while Lighthouse was raising capital. Investors also questioned the planned use of part of the funding to repay a $19 mn loan from Florida-based One Florida Bank.
According to the complaint, the Whites didn’t disclose that Lawrence White potentially had an insider relationship with the bank. Those allegations formed part of the investors’ claims surrounding Lighthouse’s financial condition and capital-raising efforts.
Lighthouse had about 13,800 policies in force in Florida, plus additional business in Louisiana and other states. The Louisiana Department of Insurance placed the company into rehabilitation in 2021 as its financial position deteriorated.
Company executives initially continued efforts to raise capital after Hurricane Ida, apparently believing Lighthouse might absorb the losses. By April 2022, regulators had determined the insurer was insolvent and began liquidation proceedings.
The investor litigation continued after Lighthouse entered receivership. One Florida Bank settled a separate lawsuit brought by the funds in March, according to court records.
The investment firms also sued TigerRisk Partners, now known as Howden Tiger Capital, in New York. That case alleged the broker misled investors while helping Lighthouse raise capital shortly before the insurer entered receivership.
A court partially dismissed the TigerRisk case in 2025. The remaining dispute ended this spring after both sides reached a settlement and agreed to drop the lawsuit.
Patrick White declined to comment on the latest Florida ruling. The summary judgment came about two weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial.
Fortinbras and lawyers representing the remaining investment funds couldn’t be reached Wednesday regarding a potential appeal. It therefore remains unclear whether the plaintiffs will seek appellate review of the summary judgment.
