Woman wins $300K in sinkhole suit

A Gainesville woman won a $300,000 lawsuit against her insurer after a jury determined that sinking soil in an ancient sinkhole damaged her home.

Sheron Cohen, a retired schoolteacher, bought her first house in Fletcher's Mill in northwest Gainesville in September 2001. By July 2002, a crack appeared on her ceiling. Today, a crack that's up to 1 inches thick in places runs along her floor from her back door through her front driveway.

Her insurer, State Farm Florida Insurance Co., denied Cohen's sinkhole claim after hiring geological firms that found clay and determined that drought conditions caused the clay to shrink, shifting the ground under her home.

By Florida law, home insurance covers sinkhole-related damage but not damage caused by other shifting soils.

A geological firm hired by her attorney found sinkhole activity.

"What it amounts to is my experts were better than their experts," Cohen said. "I'm just so happy that after all this time I can get it fixed."

Her attorney, Alan Marshall, said a common problem is clay and organic matter that can cause the ground to shift also can be found in sinkholes.

"A sinkhole forms, clay and organics pile into it, then a claim for cracking gets denied because clay and organics fall into the sinkhole," he said.

Marshall said Cohen's home sits on the northwest slope of an ancient sinkhole, hundreds of yards from the center. Aerial maps show a round hole that is deep in the center with sloping sides, he said.

Marshall said he did not know if other homes in the area were threatened by sinkhole activity.

Cohen has estimates that her home needs $192,000 to stabilize the ground with piles and piers and $70,000 in interior repairs - a combined total she said is more than she originally paid for the home.

She sought $230,000 in the lawsuit. The jury came back with a $300,000 reward last week.

"What the jury is saying is you've wronged this woman," Marshall said.

He said she is entitled to a second trial to pursue punitive damages if she chooses.

A State Farm spokesman said the company cannot discuss claims because of confidentiality agreements.

Cohen previously lost lawsuits against the home's builder and foundation contractor and had to pay their legal fees. She said she won a small settlement against the home's prior owners.

Anthony Clark can be reached at 352-374-5094 or anthony.clark@gvillesun.com.