Paulette Fouts - Vernis & Bowling

Paulette Fouts, Esq.
Department Managing Attorney
Vernis & Bowling of Broward, P.A. 5821 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, FL 33021
Phone: (954) 927-5330
Email: PFouts@Florida-Law.com
Fax: (954) 927-5320
Website: www.national-law.com
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Verdicts and Dispositions

Zachary Baro, et al v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Paulette Fouts (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 Broward County Circuit Court.

Plaintiffs brought a breach of contract action regarding a residential property insurance claim to their home related to a reported windstorm loss. Plaintiffs sought the replacement of their roof and payment for damages to the interior of their home. 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 provided Citizens with the report of an engineer who testified at trial that the damages he observed to the Plaintiffs’ roof were clearly caused by the winds experienced during the reported wind event and that due to the extensive nature of the physical loss the shingle roof had to be replaced, as well as a newer flat roof that had been installed in 2012. He also correlated the interior damage to leaks caused by the windstorm. For the defense, an expert engineer 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 significant ponding which caused long-term deterioration of the flat roof portion of the roofing system. He also used nine years of aerial photographs of the Plaintiffs’ property preceding the reported date of loss to show the jury the progression of the deterioration due to the ponding.

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.

Plaintiff’s demand during trial was $125,000.00 inclusive of attorney’s fees and costs.
Cristian and Vanessa Rivera v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Paulette Fouts (Hollywood, FL) (Property) obtained their second Defense Verdict in the past month on behalf of their client, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, in a first-party property declaratory action related to Hurricane Irma brought by Plaintiffs against their homeowners’ insurance carrier in a jury trial that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, between December 12th through December 15th, 2023.

Plaintiffs brought a declaratory relief action regarding a residential property insurance claim to their home related to a Hurricane Irma claim. Plaintiffs initially reported the claim for damage to their roof, exterior wall and to the interior of their home over two years and eight months after the hurricane, claiming that they reported the loss as soon as they became aware of leaks into their living room which occurred through their exterior stucco wall, and that they did not know the damage was caused by the hurricane until just before reporting it when they were informed of its cause by their public adjuster. After investigating, Citizens denied the claim due to its late reporting having severely prejudiced their ability to fairly investigate the loss. Plaintiffs subsequently filed suit and provided Citizens with the report of an engineer, Al Brizuela, who testified at trial that the damages he observed following his inspection were clearly caused by winds experienced during Hurricane Irma. For the defense, expert engineer, Neil Greenspoon, testified on behalf of Citizens that there was no wind damage to the Plaintiffs’ property caused by Hurricane Irma, and that both the leaks and issues the homeowners experienced were due to defective installation of the exterior stucco wall and the interior flooring in the residence. He also found evidence of damage that pre-existed the policy period in this case.

The jury found in favor of Citizens finding that Plaintiffs failed to meet their initial burden to prove that their property sustained a direct physical loss during the policy period. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizens’ costs, and potentially its attorney’s fees, is pending.

Plaintiff’s Demand prior to trial: $150K inclusive of attorney’s fees and costs.
Blas & Raysa Baldepina v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Paulette Fouts (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 brought by Plaintiffs against their homeowners insurance carrier in a jury trial that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, between November 13th -16th, 2023. Of interest, the Broward County courthouse was ordered closed due to rain, high winds and flooding, just before the jury went out to deliberate. The parties and the jury nevertheless came to the closed courthouse to deliberate in this windstorm damage case, and the jury rendered a verdict in favor of our client.

Plaintiffs brought a breach of contract suit regarding a residential property insurance claim to their home related to a windstorm claim. Plaintiffs reported a claim for damage to their roof and water damage to the interior of their home, which Citizens denied due to long-term wear and tear in addition to the absence of any peril-created opening in the roof, as well as for pre-existing damages. The Plaintiffs initially sought payment for the complete replacement of their roof reportedly due to tornado-like winds as well as repairs to ceilings and walls in several rooms at the property, although they eventually withdrew their interior damages claim. Plaintiff’s expert Architect Zachary Wethington testified at trial that the Plaintiffs’ roof had been significantly damaged due to winds preceding the reported DOL, and that the Plaintiffs subsequently discovered the damage when numerous interior leaks occurred throughout a number of rooms inside their home. For the defense, expert engineer Jeffrey Sanchez testified that there was in fact wind damage to the roof but that it was related to a prior storm, Hurricane Irma, which was outside the policy period, and that the remainder of the damaged portions of the roof were due to wear, tear and deterioration.

The jury found in favor of Citizens finding that Plaintiffs failed to meet their initial burden to prove that their property sustained a direct physical loss due to wind during the policy period. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizens’ attorney’s fees and costs is pending.

Plaintiff’s Demand at Trial: $83,179.59, then reduced at trial to $36,325.43 for the roof only, plus claimed attorney’s fees and costs in excess of $100K+.
Isabel Lopez v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Paulette Fouts (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 brought by Plaintiff against her homeowners insurance carrier in a jury trial that took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Plaintiff brought a breach of contract suit regarding a residential property insurance claim to her home related to a reported water supply line leak to her refrigerator, which Citizens had denied due to their investigation revealing no direct physical loss as a result of the reported claim, as well as for unrelated damages that were excluded under a policy exclusion for constant or repeated leakage. The Plaintiff sought payment for the replacement of her kitchen including cabinetry, floors and walls at the property, as well as continuous flooring throughout much of her home. Plaintiff’s expert Peter Lemus testified at trial that the one-time reported leak from the pressurized supply line was the cause of the claimed damages and about the scope of the repairs needed as a result. For the defense, Citizen’s field adjuster testified that his inspection revealed no evidence of a direct physical loss, and that he recommended an expert be retained to further evaluate the claim. Expert engineer Dan Connery testified that he found no evidence the flooding event claimed by Plaintiff had occurred as reported by the Plaintiff. The jury found in favor of Citizens finding that Plaintiff failed to meet her burden to show that her property sustained a direct physical loss on the reported date of the incident. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizen’s attorney’s fees and costs is pending.

The Plaintiff’s last demand at trial was $45,382.33, plus claimed attorney’s fees and costs in excess of $100K+.
Johanna Aguirre Caceres v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Paulette Fouts (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 brought by Plaintiff against her homeowners insurance carrier in the case Johanna Aguirre Caceres v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Plaintiff brought a breach of contract suit regarding a residential property insurance claim to her home related to a plumbing water leak, which Citizens had denied based upon the lack of direct physical loss to the property. The Plaintiff sought payment for interior damages including the replacement of her entire kitchen, and all of the flooring throughout her home. Plaintiff claimed that the loss was due to a sudden leak from under her kitchen sink which occurred while she was at work damaging the kitchen cabinets and flooring. Plaintiff’s public adjuster testified that the leak caused the damage and testified regarding the need for and cost of replacement. For the defense, Citizen’s field adjuster and expert engineer testified that the Plaintiff’s property was not damaged due to the leak, that the claimed damage was due entirely to a subsequent unrelated event, and that the reported loss could not have occurred in the manner claimed by the Plaintiff and her public adjuster. The jury found in favor of Citizens on Plaintiff’s claim, finding that she did not prove that she sustained a physical loss during the policy period. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizen’s attorney’s fees and costs is pending.

Plaintiff’s demand at trial was $31,873.28 plus interest and claimed attorney’s fees and costs in excess of $80,000.00.

Areas Of Practice

First and Third Party Property and Casualty Claims
Premises Liability

Bar & Court Admission

Florida Bar
District of Columbia Bar
All State Courts of Florida
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Education

Graduate:
Georgetown University Law Center
Undergraduate:
The Ohio State University

Paulette Fouts was born in California and was raised in Ohio. She graduated cum laude from The Ohio State University. Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, she attended Georgetown University Law Center where she earned her Juris Doctor.

At Vernis and Bowling, she primarily works on First and Third Party Insurance Claims and Premises Liability.

Paulette is a former Assistant Public Defender in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties, with twenty years of litigation experience. She is admitted to practice in All State Courts in Florida, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and a member of the bar in Washington, D.C.

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