October 19, 2005
FCCA Owners
Metairie, LA 70003
Re: All of my customers that have been asking me for information
To whom it may concern:
I sent a copy of the recent FCCA letter, dated 10/17/05, to my attorney for review and he says that it is a violation of the fiduciary duty of the insurance company to "hold" ANY money that is due on the legitimate claims of the victims of Katrina. The insurance company does not have any interest in whether you fix your unit or not. They only have a duty to pay the legitimate claim to the Condo Association as the insured. Your mortgage holder, if you have one, does have an interest in making sure that your unit is restored since they have loaned money to you but the Insurance Company cannot use this as an excuse to delay paying your legitimate claims for damages.
My attorney says that the Condo Association probably does have an interest in making sure that the many unit owners repair their respective units for the "good of the community" which is probably covered in the by-laws or condo documents. My attorney believes that the Condo. Assn. Board or Manager is blaming the insurance company for delays which may or may not be the insurance companies fault. There are at least two insurance companies (NFIP-National Flood Insurance Plan for the Flood damage and Scottsdale Insurance Company for the wind/storm damage) and possibly four different claims, just for the Condo. Assn. and the two separate court yards. My attorney believes that some of the delay is due to the various insurance company's haggling over who will pay what but that should not affect things for 30-60 days as implied in the recent letter from the Board.
In the interim, while the insurance companies are "haggling" over who will pay what, the main insurers should at least release enough money to pay 1/2 of the estimated claims so that the many unit owners can begin to fix their units. Most people do not have thousands of dollars laying around right now to pay the 50% down payments that most contractors will require.
My attorney believes that the Condo. Assn. Board has a duty to give the owners full disclosure of what is going on right now. He says that you already had to wait over 7 weeks for this first letter and then the letter is very vague, dodges the important issues and then the Board refuses to give you the insurance company information so that you can take matters into your own hands. My attorney also feels that the Condo. Assn. Board may be overstepping their authority when they say they are going to settle for an amount which may or may not cover all of YOUR damages and then they say you will have to have your own insurance cover any damages that their reduced settlement failed to cover.
My attorney believes that the Condo. Assn. Board should have an attorney representing the Board and the various owners, to make sure that everyone receives a fair settlement and that all claims are not fully settled until all owners have a reasonable amount of certainty that the amount of money will pay their damages and renovate the individual units to pre-Katrina condition.
My attorney also says that the insurance company and the Condo. Assn. Board can not force you to use "their contractor". In Louisiana, you are able to use whomever you wish to repair your unit, within the limits of the by-laws of the Condo. Assn. Neither the Insurance companies, nor the Condo. Assn. Board or Manager can hold your money or refuse to pay you as long as you are making a good faith effort to demolish the Katrina damage and begin to make repairs to your unit. My attorney believes you should DEMAND, in writing, that the Condo. Assn. Board or Manager fully disclose what kind of offers have been made so that you can determine if you are willing to accept the offers. My attorney does not think the Condo. Assn. Board or Manager should be doing these things in secrecy and then refusing to tell you what is going on.
My attorney believes there should be a system whereas you can present bills or estimates to the Condo. Assn. and the Condo. Assn. can make checks payable to you and your contractor for the 50% down payment, so that your contractor will know that the check is written. Then, once your contractor begins to do the work, you can co-sign the check and pay him/her the 50% down payment. My attorney says that the insurance company cannot expect you to pay this money out of your pocket and then wait "30-60 days or more" and they must pay all reasonable claims and should probably set up an escrow account to handle the partial payments NOW!
The following paragraphs contain a copy/paste of a recent email that was forwarded to me where the Condo. Assn. Manager told the claims adjuster for NFIP to only deal with him so that no one else would know what was going on. As you can see from the email, the NFIP Flood Adjuster claims that he would send a draft copy of the flood claim to Chet Hingle "by the end of this week", which would have been October 14, 2005. Did anyone tell you what the initial amount is for? Has the Condo. Board Assn. or Manager asked you for any specific damages that showed up after you did your demolition work, that may not have shown up in the initial inspection? The NFIP Flood man told me that he would cover everything from the 4 foot mark down and that the Wind/Storm Insurance would have to cover everything from 4 feet up. For second floor unit owners, only the Wind/Storm policy would provide coverage since the flood waters did not reach the upper levels. For the first floor unit owners, the two insurance companies would have to determine the various damages covered by each policy.
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10/10/2005
Chet Hingle
Thanks for your recent telephone call and this e-mail with your
instructions. All information will be directed to you direct and to this e-mail address.
I'm still in the process of completing the Bldg flood damage to the rear
bldg only. this process should be completed by the end of this week. At that
time I will forward you a draft copy to review, make your comments and revise if
needed. You will have a 1st preview of the described repairs before sending
to the carrier for their final review and approval for payment.
Additional requested information:
(1) copy of the Condo Doc's - required before conclusion of this file.
(2) additional contents inventory to include the laundry room - washers &
dryers to include make model serial numbers - if located.
(3) Recreation Room - base cabinets & carpeting is part of the structure.
please provide additional information for the damaged items, including
replacement cost for each item, and their approximate age., refrigerator make
model, s/n, age and replacement cost.
Thanking you in advance for your cooperation and patience with this matter.
Glen G
NFIP - Flood Insurance Adjuster
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Forwarded Message:
Subj: F. C. C. A., Inc. Date: 9/30/2005 7:03:59
P.M. Eastern Daylight Time From: (deleted - Chet Hingle's former email address)
To: (deleted - Adjuster's email address)
Sorry we missed you. We waited for some time and when you didn’t show we
left My maintenance man and I are not on-site personnel. Do not e-mail the
gentleman who accompanied you anything pertaining to this occurrence. I will be
your contact at the phone numbers you have for me or at this e-mail address
which is my daughter’s where I am staying probably for the next 6 months. I look
forward to receiving your estimates as soon as possible. The inventory for
the rec room is as follows: 9 ft of base cabinets; 39 ft of sectional
upholstered sofas; a refrigerator, 2- 8ft folding tables; and carpet.
Thanks,
Chet Hingle
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Lenny continued-
I have advised the Condo. Assn. Board and Manager, in writing, of the roof/ceiling leaks that me and several of my neighbors have suffered and it seems that the contractor that fixed the main roofs does not know anything about these other roof problems. I told Chet Hingle about these leaks over four weeks ago. Here is a partial copy/paste of part of my written notice to the Condo. Assn. Board and Manager:
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START SNIP-
Per our previous conversations, I am providing you a list of all things
that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The A/C compressor on the roof was knocked over by the hurricane winds
but when Sean and I went up on the roof after the hurricane, we
stood up all of the knocked over units since it would definitely not be
good for them to turn on while laying on their sides. When the power
finally came back on 14 days after the hurricane, the A/C unit worked
but it "moaned and groaned" every time it would turn on or off. Also,
the fan/blower bearings would squeal after running for a little while.
The ceiling on both sides of the A/C unit has water damage and leaked
bad so I'm not sure if water went down into the A/C blower housing.
As of October 15th, the squealing got louder and louder and the blower
finally quit working. I temporarily have a regular window fan sitting
on the floor in front of the intake filter vent blowing air through the
condenser and the compressor is still working so I am able to at least
get some cold air circulating so it is comfortable at night but the
fan/blower or motor needs to be replaced. The A/C compressor unit needs
to be serviced since it still moans and groans when it cycles on and
off. There were NO PROBLEMS with the A/C or Blower prior to the ceiling
leaks from Hurricane Katrina.
Since I rode out the hurricane, I was able to poke holes in the ceiling
drywall, with a phillips screwdriver, when I would see a water mark
forming so I kept the ceiling damage to a minimum and had buckets and
garbage cans all over the place. Basically, there are FOUR general
areas where water was dripping from the ceiling but some of the areas
were large enough to require more than one bucket since the water marks
started spreading so I had to poke additional holes in the area.
The kitchen ceiling leaked but I did not know it until the power came
back on and I saw water in the fluorescent light fixture housing. We
haven't had much rain since the hurricane, thank God, but the same areas
leaked when it rained each time as well.
The front door, bottom lock jammed due to the door swelling and I had to
force it open which damaged the wood around the bottom door handle/lock.
This may be able to be repaired with a kit which has the security plate
that goes around the lock and handle area.
Margie, next door in Unit XX, also had ceiling leaks in her bedroom and
other areas.
I told Charlie and Chet Hingle about the roof leaks verbally but I am
going to give them a copy of this email as well. I spoke to the people
at F-D-L Construction Company (the people doing the roof repairs
on the more seriously damaged buildings) but they did not know anything
about checking/repairing the roof over your unit, Margie's unit or
number 9X which also had evidence of new leaks. Philip in 9X says he
does not have any leaks so it looks like it's on the two ends. Maybe
the ends sit lower and hold more water.
I have taken pictures of the ceiling leaks, etc., in my unit and
Margie's unit if you need them. They are 1 meg each so I am not
emailing them but if you want me to email them to you, I can resize them
for ease of emailing.
END SNIP
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If you have any question concerning this letter, please feel free to write me at unit 94 or call me at 504-621-1870. The Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance toll free phone numbers are 1-800-259-5300 or 5301, if you wish to learn more information about what the insurance company's can and cannot do as to holding your legitimate claim money.
Sincerely,
Lenny Vasbinder
Unit 94 tenant
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