August 13, 2025
ShareKelley Kronenberg Secures Zero-Dollar Resolution in Hurricane Sally Case
Kelley Kronenberg Partner/Business Unit Leader Andrew Labbe and Partner Christian Williams achieved a remarkable victory for Homeowners Choice Insurance Company in Escambia County, securing voluntary dismissal of a Hurricane Sally claim with potential exposure of $500,000.00 after the jury had already been selected and sworn.
The case involved a homeowner who filed a claim for Hurricane Sally damage, disputing the amount of payments made by Homeowners Choice after the carrier had acknowledged coverage for roof and certain interior damage. The plaintiff sought $300,000.00 in additional damages and had previously demanded $400,000.00 to settle.
The critical factor in this case was that the plaintiff held a named peril policy, which placed the burden squarely on her to prove that all claimed damage resulted from wind or rain entering through a wind-created opening. Andrew and Christian recognized this burden of proof issue as central to their defense strategy.
During the litigation process, the defense team successfully moved to strike the plaintiff’s expert witness based on failure to timely disclose. Additionally, they got two other witnesses struck for late disclosure and had one witness’s testimony limited due to late disclosure. These procedural victories proved decisive, as they left the plaintiff without adequate expert testimony to establish both the scope of covered damage and the cost to repair such damage.
As trial commenced and the jury was sworn, Andrew and Christian filed a strategic motion for directed verdict, arguing that the plaintiff could not meet her burden of proof without expert testimony as a matter of law. The motion highlighted that under Florida’s named peril policy requirements, lay testimony alone was insufficient to establish the technical causation and scope issues necessary to prove the claim.
The judge allowed the plaintiff until the following morning to respond to the directed verdict motion. However, faced with the reality that they could not overcome the legal and evidentiary obstacles presented by our team’s motion, plaintiff’s counsel chose to voluntarily dismiss the case rather than proceed to trial.
This outcome demonstrates the critical importance of understanding policy language and burden of proof requirements in property insurance litigation, as well as the strategic value of aggressive expert witness challenges when properly executed during the litigation process.
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