Carl Bober and Ashley Arias (Hollywood, FL) (Property) obtained a Defense Verdict on behalf of their client, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, in a first-party property breach of contract action related to a windstorm claim brought by Plaintiffs against their homeowners’ insurance carrier in a jury trial that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Plaintiffs brought a breach of contract action regarding a residential property insurance claim to their property related to a reported windstorm loss. Plaintiffs sought payment for the replacement of their roof and resulting water damages to the interior of their home. Plaintiffs had purchased their home six months before the windstorm after obtaining an inspection report from a licensed home inspector indicating that the roof had no leaks and still had a number of years of useful life remaining.
After an inspection by an independent adjuster, Citizens denied their claim due to exclusions in the policy of insurance for wear, tear, and deterioration to the roof, as well as the lack of a peril-created opening at the property. Plaintiffs subsequently filed suit and argued that there had been no leaks at the property until the reported windstorm, and that Citizens had elected to insure the property despite any present claims of pre-existing wear and tear. Plaintiffs also provided Citizens with the report of a licensed professional engineer, Roy Bodman, who testified at trial that the damages he observed to the Plaintiffs’ roof were caused by uplift and ‘chatter’ to the concrete tiles as the result of the winds experienced during the reported wind event. He also correlated the interior damage to leaks caused by the windstorm. For the defense, expert engineer, Shawn Bunch, testified on behalf of Citizens that there was no wind damage to the Plaintiffs’ property caused by the reported windstorm, and that the leaks the homeowners experienced were due to long-term deterioration of the roofing system, including evident repairs to the same areas being claimed by the Plaintiffs.
The jury found in favor of Citizens finding that the damage to the Plaintiffs’ property was due to wear, tear and deterioration. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizens’ attorney’s fees and costs is pending.