Florida Insurance Blog

Following more than two years of protracted litigation, Ted Corless and Morgan Barfield head to trial against Tower Hill Select Insurance Company in Marion County, Florida. The Ocala residents Matt and Cindy Villella filed a sinkhole claim on their policy for damage to their home and garage in 2008. Although Tower Hill's engineering firm BCI Engineering confirmed the presence of sinkhole activity at the home as the cause of the damage in June 2009, Tower Hill spent nearly 2 years deciding whether to pay the claim. After retaining Corless and Barfield, Tower Hill elected to pay the claim, but refused to pay the costs to stabilize the home consistent with the Insureds professional engineer. Later, after months of delays, Tower Hill agreed to pay a portion of the amount due, but only if the Insureds agreed to a cut down version of the repairs by an engineering firm who works almost exclusively for insurance companies on such claims.

Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Company had taken a back seat (perhaps the trunk) to most other insurance companies who fought the good fight on sinkhole lawsuits. Prior to the two cases it has tried this year, I am not aware of any case where they actually went in front of a jury. Since the year began, Tower Hill has taken two cases to trial, and has lost another. This one was in Polk County, as opposed to last January, where the case was pending in Hernando County. By most Florida sinkhole maps, both counties are prone to both sinkhole claims and sinkhole lawsuits.

I received a Facebook note earlier today from a fraternity pledge brother of mine, from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at the University of Missouri. He was writing to me in frustration of the fact his lawyer never returns phone calls, shows up unprepared to meetings, and lacks a sense of purpose in his work. "Why," he asked, "are lawyers such horrible business people?"

My answer to this question will require two blog posts.

I've trained about 30 lawyers since I have been practicing law, with most of these in areas where there is a particular need for aptitude in the sciences (sinkholes, fire cause and origin, and personal injuries), in addition to good legal prowess. In interviewing lawyers, hiring them, and then watching them succeed (or not), I've learned all of these things matter little if the lawyer lacks one, essential skill:

Time management. It's that simple.

The most common question I hear from my new clients relates to how the case will likely end. Will they see they have been sued, and decide to change course? Conversely, should I trust their threat that under circumstances will they pay our claim, even after we actually win at trial (Tower Hill does this)? When they say, "we will appeal," do they mean it, and if so, how does this look for us?