Saturday, March 24, 2018
Lamplight Village, update
Remember the HOA in Las Vegas, where a swing set collapsed and severely injured a 15 year old boy, and somehow a $2 million dollar demand was turned down, and then the jury returned was a $20 million dollar judgment against the HOA? The owners have been facing the spectre of paying something like $90,000 each to pay the excess judgment. But according to their Facebook page, all is well. And we know we can trust Facebook, right? :-) So let's see what the newspapers have to say.
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3 comments:
Probably posted by a board member to distract while the board member tries selling their home.
I don't get the part about how (1) the insurance company is paying, and (2) we are suing the insurance company for bad faith. That doesn't make sense. There must be more than one insurance company involved here. And it isn't clear who turned down the policy limits demand--the BOD or their liability carrier. And there is this issue of the HOA trying to blame the property management company. Whose carrier is paying what?
I was involved in a case many years ago where the HOA won a multi-million judgment against a developer for construction defects. The developer's liability insurance company declined coverage and refused to pay. So, in lieu of payment of the judgment by the developer personally (which he did not have the assets to do), the HOA took an assignment of the developer's right to sue his insurance company, and sued them for bad faith. Eventually they got the full amount of the judgment from the insurance company.
Evan, interesting story about the developer. Did the developer have insurance coverage in place in the amount of the judgment?
Lamplight HOA only had a $2M policy limit. A jury awarded $20M — ten times the policy limit. Did the HOA’s insurer talk the HOA board into going to trial, hoping the insurer’s hot shot attorney could get a favorable verdict or a lower award? Or did the HOA board plow ahead, despite the advice of the insurer to settle for $2M or less, in order to avoid a sympathetic jury?
I find it hard to believe that the insurer would talk the HOA out of a $2M or less settlement, under the circumstances. But maybe I’m mistaken.
The HOA is being about as transparent as mud. Homeowners are not going to get truthful disclosure about this lawsuit.
I cannot see how anyone can sell now, without disclosing the outcome of this lawsuit, and a pending appeal.
Going after the insurance company to pay an additional $18M over and above their policy limit, so the HOA won’t have to, seems like a longshot to me, and a delay tactic. Although, I would expect an appeal, in hopes of reducing the amount of the award. Is that a possibility, Evan?
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