Joshua Meyer - Vernis & Bowling

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

Marie Laurent v. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
Carl Bober and Josh Meyer (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 Tropical Storm Eta claim.

Plaintiff sought the replacement of her roof and payment for damages to the interior of her home. After an inspection by an independent adjuster, Citizens denied her 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. Plaintiff subsequently filed suit and provided Citizens with the report of a Haag Certified Roof Inspector, Aryeh Fraser, who testified at trial that the damages he observed to the Plaintiff’s roof were clearly caused by tropical force winds experienced during Tropical Storm Eta. He relied upon a Four Point inspection done 9 months before the storm which showed that the roof had no active leaks and was in satisfactory condition when the policy was issued by Citizens. Fraser provided an estimate to replace both the shingle roof and flat roof at the Plaintiff’s property and also correlated the interior damage to leaks caused by the windstorm. For the defense, expert engineer, John Ellis, testified on behalf of Citizens that there was no wind damage to the Plaintiff’s property caused by Tropical Storm Eta, and that the leaks the homeowner experienced were due to significant ponding which caused long-term deterioration to the flat roof portion of the roofing system, as well as wear and tear to the shingle roof. He also used five years of aerial photographs of the Plaintiffs’ property preceding the reported date of loss to show the jury pre-existing damages and repairs (including photos of repairs made just weeks before the 4 Point inspector said the roof wasn’t leaking) in addition to the progression of the deterioration due to the ponding.

The jury found in favor of Citizens finding that Plaintiff failed to prove she sustained a physical loss during the policy period. Defendant’s motion seeking the recovery of Citizens’ attorney’s fees and costs is pending.

Plaintiff’s Demand during trial: $153K plus attorney’s fees and costs.

Areas Of Practice

First and Third Party Property and Casualty Claims
Hurricane Claims
SIU/Suspicious & Fraudulent Claims

Bar & Court Admission

Florida Bar

Education

Graduate:
Florida A&M University School of Law, J.D.
Undergraduate:
University of Central Florida, B.S.

Joshua Meyer was born and raised in South Florida, but later moved to Orlando to attend College and Law School. Joshua graduated Cum Laude from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal studies. While in college, he was a member of the nationally ranked UCF mock trial team. Joshua received his Juris Doctorate degree from Florida A&M University School of Law, where he graduated in the top 15% of his class. While in law school Joshua was a member of the Moot Court team and Law Review. After passing the bar, Joshua began his career as an Assistant Public Defender. During his time as an Assistant Public Defender Joshua sat first chair in over 75 jury trials and argued countless motions on behalf of his clients. Joshua and his wife, Virginia, moved back to South Florida to be closer to family. Joshua joined Vernis & Bowling and now focuses on Insurance Defense work with most of his cases being first party property defense.

In his free time, Joshua and his wife enjoy attending Florida Panthers hockey games. They started a yearly tradition to visit a different arena each season and watch their team play. Joshua also loves golfing, cooking, music, live comedy, and traveling.

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