Evan Zuckerman and Tom Paradise (Hollywood, FL) (1st Party Property) obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Castle Key Insurance Co. in the defense of a 1st party property damage claim litigated against the Strems Law Firm.
The defense verdict was obtained following a West Palm Beach jury trial in the case of Rosales, Jose v. Castle Key Insurance Company. Plaintiff Jose Rosales filed a claim with Castle Key seeking over $43,000.00 for damages caused by a washing machine supply line leak. The file was investigated by Castle Key’s special investigations unit with the help of V&B attorneys due to the Plaintiff’s multiple claims and failures to comply with the carrier’s pre-suit requests for information. After three years of litigation, the case proceeded to trial with a $250,000.00 final demand from Plaintiff’s counsel.
At trial, Plaintiff testified that a high-volume leak damaged his garage, laundry room, and kitchen, supporting that assertion with testimony from expert general contractor Edgard de Olazabal. Plaintiff’s wife Marisol Rosales also testified about the post-incident clean-up and resulting damage. The defense presented testimony from field adjuster Keith Hardy and engineer S. Selim Cerci, both of whom stated that the damages they observed were not consistent with the leak described by the Plaintiff. The jury returned a defense verdict after deliberating for about thirty minutes, finding that the Plaintiff failed to prove that the claimed damages actually resulted from the leak. Our motion for attorney’s fees and costs is pending pursuant to an expired proposal for settlement.