Condominium Insurance Law : Condo Insurance Lawyers & Attorneys : Merlin Law Group Law Firm : Tampa, Houston, Coral Gables & West Palm Beach

Halloween usually brings two things for sure: trick-or-treaters and Halloween parties. As a member of a condominium or homeowner’s association, you can almost be certain that either your association or one or more of your neighbors will be hosting a Halloween party. If you or someone you know is planning a party, try to make sure that the party doesn’t go so far as to violate any of the association’s rules, as one California homeowner’s party did in Jones Ranch Homeowners Ass'n v. Degnan, A118584, 2008 WL 5049757 (Cal. Ct. App., Nov. 25, 2008, A118584).

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

We have written several times in the Condominium Insurance Law Blog regarding examinations under oath and their importance in the insurance claims process. In his July 3, 2010 post titled Examinations Under Oath Can Be Difficult For Associations, Corey Harris gave an excellent description of what an examination under oath is and what the process entails. Corey wrote that:

[A]nyone sitting for an EUO should remember that while it is not a “legal proceeding,” it is about as close as you can get. The insurance company’s representative asking the questions will undoubtedly be an attorney, and you should plan for some tough questions.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

When a condominium association needs money for an association expense such as property repairs, the association can generally divide the cost among association members and charge a proportionate amount to each member through special assessments. Many condominium unit owner policies provide coverage for some of these assessments. In fact, Florida Statute § 627.714 (2011) requires that residential condominium unit owner insurance policies include at least $2,000 of property loss assessment coverage that kicks in when an association assesses members for property damage.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I am always amazed at the willingness of some unit owners to run for a board of directors. I am even more impressed when they choose to do it for a second, third, or fourth time. Being a director is not easy. Undoubtedly, a faction of the association will disagree with the board and will make their opinions known. Sometimes this leads to contentious situations that can drive a wedge between friends and neighbors.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

On September 12, 2011, in Customary Discovery Practices May Vary Greatly Between Federal And State Courts, I discussed how the Federal Middle District Court of Florida resolved a discovery dispute between Nationwide and Pepperwood of Naples Condominium Association. Recently, the Court decided another discovery dispute between the parties. This one involved Nationwide’s claim of attorney-client privilege and work product protection to some document requests. Such claims of privilege are common in litigation. The resolution of these disputes can play a very important role in the information that the policyholder can obtain to support its claims, especially in a bad faith case.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

If asked what an ordinary person might select for casual reading, one might think of books, magazines, or newspapers, but probably not insurance policies. If an ordinary person were to read an insurance policy, what would he or she think it meant? In states that employ the “reasonable expectations doctrine” for insurance policies, courts are often faced with this question. Colorado is one of the states that considers the reasonable expectation of the insured when interpreting insurance policies, and a recent condominium case there took a grammatical approach to determine what an ordinary reader would have understood the condominium policy to have covered.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link