Hailey Jordaan (Tampa, FL) (Property) Petitioner alleged that the insured property sustained damage due to a plumbing leak underneath his kitchen sink. Petitioner sought a full replacement of the kitchen cabinetry and countertops and other interior repairs in excess of $30,000. After an inspection by an independent adjuster, Citizens denied his claim as there was no direct loss to the covered property. The claim was referred to Division of Administrative Hearings and Petitioner retained an expert engineer, who provided a report that there was water damage that resulted in compromised structural integrity of the cabinets.
For the defense, an expert engineer testified on behalf of Citizens that there was no observable damage to the cabinetry that would have resulted from a high-water release event, no loss of integrity to the cabinetry, and only superficial moisture residue on the bottom panel of cabinetry underneath the sink.
The Arbitration Judge found in favor of Citizens finding that Respondent’s expert testimony and report was significantly more persuasive than Petitioner’s expert report; that greater weight of the credible evidence adduced at the arbitration hearing established that there was no directly physical loss to the dwelling during the policy period; and, as Petitioner’s loss in not covered, the policy benefits payable on this insurance is zero dollars.