CVN screenshots of plaintiff attorney Benjamin Korn (left) and defense attorney Brian Hunter (right)
West Palm Beach, FL - A Florida state court jury heard opening statements Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by a couple accusing State Farm of refusing to pay for roof damage they claim occurred in a severe thunderstorm, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiffs Andrea and Scott Kalkstein sued State Farm in 2023 arguing their “all risk” homeowners policy should cover storm damage they incurred at their home earlier that year. They claim water damage in their garage clearly occurred due to a hole caused by high winds, however State Farm maintains the claim was properly denied and the damage in question took place long before the storm.
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Plaintiff attorney Benjamin Korn of The Law Office of Benjamin Korn PLLC explained to the Palm Beach County jury how a major thunderstorm in September of 2023 took place during the coverage period for the Kalkstein’s all-risk policy. He noted how the policy specifically required any rain damage to come from water that enters through a hole caused by wind in order to be subject to coverage.
Korn told jurors during his opening statement the Kalkstein’s never noticed any water leaking in from their cement tile roof prior to the storm, and that they only noticed any water damage in their garage in its aftermath.
“We are suing State Farm because they did not honor the policy they sold,” Korn said. “There was obvious physical wind damage during the policy period.”
He accused State Farm of denying the Kalksteins' claim after a “cursory” inspection of the property, insisting there was no other possible source for water damage like a plumbing fixture. Korn explained the Kalksteins seek damages limited only to the stipulated cost of the roof repair, which comes to roughly $52,000 according to court documents.
Representing State Farm, attorney Brian Hunter of Chimpoulis Hunter & Riedhammer PA told jurors their inspector correctly determined the water damage in the Kalkstein’s garage was “many months old” and couldn’t have been caused by the thunderstorm.
He described the winds that day as far below the speeds capable of causing a breach that would allow water to enter, characterizing them as “a fraction of the force necessary to even more a concrete tile, let alone break it.”
Hunter argued the Kalksteins relied on experts that provided conflicting opinions on the date and cause of the water damage and noted that question was further complicated by a series of hurricanes that took place after the storm but weren’t the subject of a damages claim.
The trial before Judge Joseph Curley is expected to go into closing arguments the afternoon of September 2nd.
The case is captioned Andrea and Scott Kalkstein v. State Form Florida Insurance Company, case number 50-2023-CA-009854.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
