March 2011

Yesterday, I took the deposition of an engineer and field geologist who had been retained by an insurance company to evaluate the presence of sinkhole activity at my client’s house.  The engineering firm performed testing and gave the opinion that there was no sinkhole.  However, contrary to the conclusion stated in their report, the actual test results in the report indicated that there was indeed sinkhole activity causing damage to the home.  I filed suit against the insurance company for breach of contract.

Interestingly, in its final report, the engineering firm hired by the insurance company wrote that  “testing of soil samples was judged to be unnecessary to conduct this study.” However, in his deposition yesterday, the writer of that report, admitted that, contrary to what he wrote in the report, he did indeed test various soil samples with hydrochloric acid. That testing and his test results are documented in handwriting on the boring logs contained in the engineering company’s internal files. HCL testing is the quintessential laboratory test in a sinkhole investigation. The HCL testing was reactive for the presence of the building blocks of limestone, and indicative of dissolved limestone under my client’s residence.Continue Reading Deposition of a Geotechnical Engineer in a Sinkhole Case

Our clients’ home in Volusia County, Florida was severely damaged by an electrical fire. They filed a claim with their homeowner’s insurer, Citizens Property Insurance. Despite being presented with much higher estimates from contractors retained by my clients, Citizens is only willing to pay in accordance with its own adjuster’s estimate. Citizens is refusing to

In an order dated March 2, 2011, the Circuit Court in Hillsborough County ruled that damage caused to a home by Chinese Drywall was covered under a standard Florida homeowners insurance policy.  The Court further determined that policy exclusions for "wear and tear" and "errors, omissions, and defects" did not apply. 

While the coverage for

My client resides in Punta Gorda, Florida and has his homeowners insurance with Citizens Property Insurance.  His water heater malfunctioned and flooded his home with water.  He reported the claim to Citizens Insurance.  Citizens said that the loss was not covered because the water heater malfunctioned.  Citizens cited a clause in their policy that excludes losses caused by defective