August 25, 2025
ShareKelley Kronenberg Secures Walk-Away Dismissal in Hurricane Ian Property Case
Kelley Kronenberg’s defense team led by Attorney Samuel E. Jacobs, working with Legal Assistant Alexandria Wallis and Partner/Business Unit Leader Scott Dornstein, secured a complete victory for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation in Orange County, obtaining voluntary dismissal with prejudice of a Hurricane Ian claim seeking approximately $75,000.00 in total exposure.
The case involved homeowners who alleged Hurricane Ian caused wind damage to their roof and subsequent interior water damage from a roof leak. The plaintiffs sought nearly $60,000.00, plus attorney’s fees, costs, and interest under their breach of contract claim against Citizens.
Samuel developed a comprehensive defense strategy focusing on two key policy provisions. First, they established that Citizens’ policy excludes damage caused by wear, tear, deterioration, and faulty or inadequate repairs and maintenance. Second, while the policy excludes interior rainwater damage, it contains an exception requiring plaintiffs to prove that a covered peril, such as wind, created an opening allowing rainwater to enter.
Our team retained an expert engineer whose analysis proved decisive. The engineer’s opinion established that no covered damage had occurred to the property and, critically, that no peril-created opening existed in the roof or walls that would allow Hurricane Ian’s rainwater to cause covered interior damage.
Armed with this expert testimony, Samuel filed a motion for final summary judgment arguing that plaintiffs could not meet their burden of proving a covered peril created the opening necessary for coverage. The strength of this position became evident as the hearing date approached.
Rather than face what appeared to be inevitable defeat at the summary judgment hearing, plaintiffs’ counsel approached the team the day before the scheduled hearing to negotiate a complete walk-away settlement. Under this agreement, Citizens paid nothing to resolve the claim, plaintiffs dismissed their case with prejudice, and Citizens agreed not to pursue recovery of its attorney’s fees and costs.
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