Jury sides with insureds denied coverage over quarry-blasting damage

A Miami-Dade County jury awarded Hialeah homeowners a $62,000 verdict after their insurance company denied coverage for damage to their home after nearby rock mining blasting.

It’s a case that highlights just how damaging quarry blasts can be to homes, and where insurers come in.

Homeowners affected by quarry blasting have felt helpless for years, according to Mark Nation, head of Morgan & Morgan’s insurance recovery group.

“Insurance companies have continuously and wrongly denied homeowner’s claims, leaving thousands facing severe and expensive damage to their homes. We have been fighting these erroneous denials and winning our cases for homeowners,” said Nation.

In 2018, Hialeah homeowners Mario and Ivet Bermudez, filed a claim to their homeowner’s insurance company, Tower Hill Prime Insurance, for property damage to their home in 2016, when they were under the policy.

Represented by Morgan & Morgan attorneys Mark Nation and Fred Pye, they claimed vibrations casued by blasting from nearby White Rock Quarries in Hialeah caused interior and exterior cracking to the home’s foundation. 

In Miami-Dade County, there are at least nine limestone quarries operating with active blasting permits. Thousands of homeowners within a blast radius of approximately three to four miles can feel shock waves, according to Nation and Pye. Damage caused by shockwaves can include cracked foundations and roof leaks, as wells as cracked walls, ceilings and floors. 

Tower Hill Prime Insurance denied coverage, reasoning that the claim was filed two years after the reported loss, according to the complaint. The insurer also argued the blasts did not cause damage to the Bermudez’s home and were most likely caused by wear and tear due to aging. 

Morgan & Morgan’s attorneys sued the insurance company on Bermudez’s behalf in 2019, arguing continuous blasts over several years weaken the home’s infrastructure and eventually caused cracks and further damage. The attorneys argued that, under the all-risk insurance policy the homeowners had with Tower Hill Prime Insurance, all losses should be covered.  

Nation said the biggest challenge he faced was disputing the insurance industry’s attempts to claim that certain studies and reports prove quarry blasting cannot cause damage to local homeowners.

“Those studies and reports have nothing to do with what is going on in Southeast Florida,” he said. 

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas presided over the trial, which concluded after just 30 minutes of jury deliberations. The jury awarded the homeowners all the money they’d asked for.

“Through this verdict, our client will be able to afford to fix their home, and others affected by the blasting will have a remedy to seek justice,” said Nation. 

To successfully represent homeowners affected by quarry blasts, Nation said attorneys need a comprehensive understanding of the federal, state, county and city studies and reports that are used by the insurance industry to say that quarry blasting can’t cause damage.

Tower Hill Prime Insurance was represented by Zinober, Diana & Monteverde attorneys Fred Zinober in St. Petersberg and Paul Vicary in Fort Lauderdale. They did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. 

Related:

• South Florida court clarifies rules for assignees on insurance policies
• What’s the matter with Florida’s home insurance market?
• The 10 most affordable home insurance companies