Jarred Dichek, of the Miami office, got a great settlement result in a water leak case, where the Plaintiff alleged a broken shower diverter caused significant damage to the entire home and an extensive list of personal property. Some of the items claimed by the homeowner were 3 Apple laptops, an iPad, and a rare $25,000 Chinese painting (which was appraised as a copy and valued at no more than $500.00). The homeowner claimed water shot out of the wall like a fire hydrant. This claim was suspicious from the beginning. There was also overlapping damage with a Hurricane Irma claim two weeks before, and the insurer’s plumber found no evidence of a leak upon his inspection. Further, the Plaintiff told two different versions of how she discovered the leak. A second inspection took place following the receipt of a plumbing invoice dated after our plumber’s initial inspection. This new plumbing invoice identified the broken shower diverter as the cause of the flood. At the second inspection, the broken shower diverter was produced by the Plaintiff to our plumber. The part produced did not match the part in the pictures from our plumber’s first inspection. Further, if that part had shot out of the wall, half the wall would have come with it from the pressure needed for that to happen.

An EUO of the homeowner was taken, and the homeowner was locked into her version of the events and the chain of custody of the shower diverter she produced. Ultimately, she blamed her plumber for giving her the wrong part, and the public adjuster for duplicate damages claimed.

Plaintiff’s attorney was highly litigious and very difficult, making high demands in the six figure range. The attorney kept saying no jury would find her client participated in the fraud and her plan was to accuse their plumber as the bad actor. Jarred discussed with the Plaintiff’s plumber and his attorney what the Plaintiff was trying to allege, which turned the Plaintiff’s plumber into a key witness for the defense. The case ultimately settled for $10,000.00.