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 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 home related to a reported windstorm loss. Plaintiffs sought reimbursement for paid repairs to 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 a general contractor, who testified at trial that the damages he observed to the Plaintiffs’ roof were clearly caused by uplift 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, the expert roofing contractor and 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 long-term deterioration of the roofing system and windows respectively. Plaintiffs’ own roofing repair records, which they failed to share with their own trial expert, proved the long-term deterioration.
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.