Carlton Bober, Evan Zuckerman, and Ashley M. Arias (Hollywood, FL) (First Party Property/ Appeal) prevailed at the Third Direct Court of Appeals, affirming the Jury Verdict in favor of Citizens. Appellants own a home in Miami, FL, for which they obtained a policy of homeowner’s insurance with Citizens. Appellee first received notice of Appellants’ April 30, 2020 windstorm claim on or about July 14, 2020. Citizens assigned the claim to field adjuster Eric Durow, who inspected the property on July 20, 2020. Mr. Durow did not observe any damage at the property during that inspection which he believed to be storm-related, but rather observed prior repairs including screw holes and screws in the main roof, black tar applied sporadically around the roof, the remnants of prior tarps, and an entire row of shingles that appeared to be glued down with tar. Mr. Durow subsequently recommended that Citizens deny coverage based on the results of his inspection, which recommendation Citizens agreed to and directed Mr. Durow to prepare a denial letter reflecting same.
Appellants subsequently filed this this lawsuit for declaratory relief. The parties then proceeded to trial on this matter, which lasted from July 11, 2022 to July 14, 2022. Appellants moved for directed verdict at the close of Appellee’s case in chief, alleging that Appellee failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that Appellants’ claimed damages were attributable to an excluded cause of loss under Appellants’ insurance policy. The trial court denied Appellants’ motion, finding that Mr. Durow’s trial testimony had sufficient evidentiary value to send the case to the jury for a final determination. The jury then entered a verdict in Appellee’s favor, from which Appellants appealed.
On July 2, 2024, Carlton Bober argued before the Third District Court of Appeals that the Trial Court Properly Denied Appellants’ Motion for Directed Verdict as Appellee Provided Sufficient Admissible Evidence During Trial and on July 17, 2024, the Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the Jury Verdict.