The owner of a Miami-Dade shopping center alleged the contractor failed to repair defects and sued the companies that had issued the performance bond on the $26.5 million project. The lawsuit was filed in state court but removed to federal court. The federal judge ruled against the owner, who appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 11th concluded there were questions about the scope of Florida law that had to be settled by the state Supreme Court. The question is whether Florida law gives a company that is protected by a surety contract the same right to sue the bond company for alleged bad-faith refusal to settle a claim as is given to an insurance customer to sue an insurer.