EDWARD HOEY AND HELEN HOEY, APPELLANTS,
v.
STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY, FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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Homeowners Edward and Helen Hoey appealed a trial court decision upholding State Farm's denial of their water damage claim under a homeowner's policy exclusion for continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water. The court affirmed, holding that evidence supported the finding that water damage from a toilet supply line leak occurred over a period of time, bringing it within the policy's exclusion.
The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the evidence supported the finding that the leak began in the August-September billing period and continued until discovered in mid-November, thereby satisfying the 'period of time' requirement of the exclusion. The water damage claim was properly excluded from coverage.
[1] An insurance policy exclusion for "continuous or repeated leakage or seepage of water" applies when water loss occurs over a period of time, even if the damage is discove…
[2] Evidence of significantly increased water usage during a period of vacancy can support a finding that a water leak occurred continuously over time.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from a... plumbing system, including from, within or around any shower stall, shower bath, tub installation, or other plumbing fixture, including their walls or floors; which occurs over a period of time”
The policy exclusion language that applies to the water damage from the toilet supply line leak
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBetween April and November 2006, while the Hoeys' home was vacant, water leaked from a toilet supply line. The leak was discovered in November when a …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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KLEIN, J.
The insureds under a homeowner’s policy contend that the trial court erred in finding as a matter of fact that the water damage in their home fell within the exclusion for “continuous or repeated leakage or seepage of water.” We affirm.
Sometime between April 2006 and November of that year, when the insureds’ home was vacant, the leakage of water from a toilet supply line damaged the home. Their policy excludes loss
d. caused by or resulting from continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam which occurs over a period of time and results in deterioration, corrosion, rust, mold, or wet or dry rot.
The above exclusion is found in section 1, entitled “Losses Insured,” and in section 2, entitled “Losses Not Insured” it is provided:
1. We do not insure for any loss to the property described in Coverage A which consists of, or is directly and immediately caused by one or more of the perils listed in items a. through n. below, regardless of whether the loss occurs suddenly or gradually, involves isolated or widespread damage, arises from natural or external forces, or occurs as a result of any combination of these:
f. continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water or steam from a:
(3) plumbing system, including from, within or around any shower stall, shower bath, tub installation, or other plumbing fixture, including their walls or floors;
which occurs over a period of time....
The leak was discovered in November, when a neighbor observed water flowing below a sliding glass door. The period of time during which the water leaked was revealed by the water bills. Before the leak, when the house was not occupied, the water usage for a month was twenty gallons, and during a month when the house was occupied, the usage was about two thousand gallons. In September during the period of the leak when the house was unoccupied, the usage was seven hundred sixty gallons, and in October seven thousand two hundred eighty gallons. Usage for the eighteen days in November, before the leak was discovered, was eight thousand six hundred gallons. The insured testified that he believed the damage was caused by “a continuous leakage from that toilet pipe, for a course of three weeks or so” and by a “sudden accidental discharge of water.”
At the trial, an expert testified on behalf of State Farm that the leakage had resulted from the failure of a nylon fitting in a toilet supply line, and that the water bills demonstrated that water usage had increased gradually from zero to twenty six gallons a day in September, two hundred forty gallons a day in October, and four hundred twenty gallons a day in Novem ber. This was an ongoing increase from a drip to a major failure of the fitting. The leak could have started as early as July, because rot in the wood near the fitting, and mold in the nearby drywall was consistent with leakage over a period longer than a few weeks.
The trial court found that the leak began sometime during the August — September billing period and continued until it was discovered in mid-November, and this finding was the basis for the conclusion that this loss occurred over a period of time. Appellant’s argument that this finding is not supported by the evidence is utterly without merit.
The remaining issues raised, including the contention that the exclusion is ambiguous, do not merit discussion. Affirmed.
SHAHOOD, C.J. and DAMOORGIAN, J., concur.
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Price v. Castle KEY Indem. Co., 152 So. 3d 2 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…judgment was improper. Id. at 659-60. We therefore reverse the final summary judgment and remand for further proceedings. Reversed and remanded. SILBERMAN and WALLACE, JJ., Concur. . Castle Key relies on Hoey v. State Farm Florida Insurance Co., 988 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), to support its position that the extended duration of the water expulsion triggered the seepage exclusion of the insurance policy. However, Mr. Price argues that Hoey is facially distinguishable because in this case the leak beg…