Nicholas Travis Obtains Final Summary Judgment Dismissing All Claims with Prejudice in Property Coverage Dispute
Clausen Miller Partner Nicholas Travis obtained final summary judgment dismissing all claims with prejudice for his client in Palm Beach.
The matter involved a property coverage dispute wherein Nick’s client denied the plaintiff’s claim for breach of the policy’s prompt notice provision. On summary judgment, Nick argued that plaintiff’s failure to provide prompt notice of the loss precluded the client from making causation determinations and prejudicing the investigation, which position was supported by the affidavit of an engineering expert.
In opposition, the plaintiff sought to rely on its own affidavit from its engineering expert which set forth that despite the passage of time he was able to determine that damage was attributable to the alleged loss. However, notably, the affidavit of the plaintiff’s engineer failed to discuss specific damages to the property or otherwise set forth any facts or data or principles or methods relied upon in reaching his conclusion.
At the hearing, Nick argued that the plaintiff’s opposition affidavit was wholly conclusory and unsupported and was therefore inadmissible and legally insufficient to create a disputed issue of fact.
The court agreed and entered final summary judgment in favor of Nick’s client holding that plaintiff’s breach of its obligation to provide prompt notice of the loss prejudiced the client’s claim investigation.
Nick Travis concentrates his practice in professional liability, first-party property litigation and extra-contractual claims. He has experience in counseling clients across a broad range of sectors in compliance matters in addition to developing litigation strategies designed to mitigate liability exposure.
Nicholas W. Travis