Carolyn Blue and Ashley Skipper v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation

Carl Bober and Donna Romero (Hollywood, FL) (Property) obtained a defense verdict following a jury trial in Fort Lauderdale in the case of Carolyn Blue and Ashley Skipper v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The case involved a first party property insurance water loss allegedly causing tile floor damage, with the Plaintiffs seeking the replacement of all the tile in their home following a denial of their claim. Opposing counsel had been demanding $150K until just before trial against our expired $50K Proposal for Settlement. Plaintiff Carolyn Blue claimed at trial that she first noticed cracked floor tile in her master bedroom following a bathroom leak. Plaintiff’s expert general contractor testified that the cause of the Plaintiff’s damaged tile was due to water. For the defense, Citizens’ expert engineer testified that the damage to the floor tile was instead the result of improper installation, and also showed the jury that a number of the claimed cracks in the floor tile pre-existed the reported date of loss. The jury found in favor of Citizens, finding that the Plaintiffs failed to prove that they sustained a physical loss to their property during the policy period. Our motion to seek the recovery of Citizens’ attorney’s fees and costs is pending.