Built in the 1980s, Cloverplace is a duplex community just off U.S. 19 in Pinellas County. The 120 buildings (240 units) are home to about 500 people, many of them retirees and young families. In 2007, residents of the Cloverplace Condos began to notice unmistakable signs of sinkhole activity. Walls were cracking, stucco was peeling…
No San Francisco treat here. A sinkhole may be lurking at the Millennium Tower, an expensive, posh fifty-eight-story apartment building in San Francisco, California. The excitement, buzz, and property values since it’s opening in 2009 are sinking along with the building’s foundation. Engineers have estimated the building will continue to sink at a rate of about…
The effects of Hurricane Irma All across Florida, the ground is giving way as gaping holes are opening in backyards, homes and apartments, schoolyards, and roadways. The reason? Sinkholes are opening under these buildings caused in part by the extra water from Hurricane Irma. Like hurricanes, sinkholes evolve when rock is faced with water; water dissolves…
Water is a sinkhole’s best friend. The underground voids and cavities associated with sinkholes form through the action of acidic water on the limestone. Limestone is a calcareous material that dissolves. The formation of the voids does not happen overnight. Once the voids form, the soils above have to move downward, which causes that raveling…
American Home Assurance v. Sebo is a pretty famous case in the insurance world but probably not known at all by your average insured. It is an important decision though that impacts homeowners drastically. The background on the case is complicated but essentially involved an expensive home that was built with numerous defects. In conjunction…
I honestly haven had a ton of interest in writing on this story because it has been all over the news and I won’t add anything that hasn’t already been reported. But, in case you missed it one of the larger sinkholes you will see opened up in a Land O Lakes community swallowing a…
Attorney Ted Corless is on the scene investigating the latest large sinkhole incident in the State of Florida. A large sinkhole opened on the morning of July 14 and it has already swallowed two homes. Authorities are scrambling to keep people safe from the massive, fast-growing sinkhole. Corless learned repairs were done on the sinkhole…
This is a scary story. An elderly woman was driving through a shopping plaza in Ocala when a massive sinkhole opened up taking the front half of her car down with it. Luckily she was able to escape but was visibly shaken. It appears the hole ruptured some water lines as well causing some flooding…
Bahama Bay, a condo resort community just miles from Disney World experienced a terrifying event none of us hope to be a part of. A 30 foot sinkhole opened up the morning of Friday December 9th and forced the evacuation of the building which has since been declared uninhabitable in its current state. Our firm…
We wrote about a case this firm handled from the trial court assisting up to the Florida Supreme Court in September. The case, Johnson v. Omega, has become a hallmark whenever attorney fee issues arise in sinkhole claims now. It really has set the standard moving forward and put insurance companies on notice to monitor…
