Phillip Jones (Tampa, Florida) (Property) obtained a Final Summary Judgment in Hillsborough County Florida on behalf of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
Plaintiff brought a homeowners breach of contract claim in relation to an alleged windstorm resulting in damage to the Plaintiff’s roof and interior of the Plaintiff’s home. The alleged date of loss was December 24, 2020. The Plaintiff did not report the loss to Citizens until June 27, 2022. Citizens ultimately found that it could not determine the cause of the loss due to the passage of time. The Plaintiff then filed suit
Our office took the Plaintiff’s deposition and was able to solicit testimony that the alleged damages were observed shortly after the alleged date of loss of December 24, 2020. However, instead of reporting the claim, the Plaintiff painted over the damages.
At the hearing on the Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff attempted to argue that there was still a question of fact as to whether the notice was timely. Our office argued that based on the insured’s undisputed testimony the notice was untimely. Plaintiff submitted a report and affidavit of an expert engineer who opined that the Plaintiff’s damages were caused by the December 24, 2020 event. Further, Plaintiff’s expert opined that Citizens had enough information and could have made a coverage determination at the time it inspected. Therefore, Plaintiff argued that Citizens was not prejudiced. We argued the affidavit and report should not be considered as it was based on an inspection that occurred three and half years after the alleged date of loss.
The Court agreed with Citizens that the claim was not reported timely and that Citizens was prejudiced in its investigation. Based on the same, the Court granted Citizens’ Motion for Final Summary Judgment.