Izquierdo v. Universal Insurance Company of North America
A homeowner sued his all-risk insurer for cracking damage he attributed to shock waves from nearby rock-quarry blasting; the trial court granted summary judgment for the insurer based on the policy's earth movement and existing damage exclusions. The Third District reversed, holding that the insured's expert affidavit — attesting the cracks were caused by land shock waves striking the home rather than by any earth movement — created a genuine factual dispute, and that the insured's deposition testimony about new post-inception cracks defeated the existing damage exclusion.
Key facts
- Homeowner Izquierdo sued his all-risk insurer, Universal Insurance Company of North America, for coverage of cracking damage to his home caused by shock waves from nearby rock-quarry blasting operations.
- The trial court granted summary judgment for the insurer, finding the damage was excluded under the policy's earth movement and existing damage exclusions.
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Why it matters
This decision reinforces the Third District's Bermudez rule that quarry-blasting shock-wave damage is not automatically swept into a homeowner policy's earth movement exclusion, giving first-party property claimants a… — full analysis with a trial
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