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1
RE: and
DOL:CLAIM NO:OUR FILE NO:
____________________________________/
EXAMINATION UNDER OATH OF VOLUME 1 of 1, Pages 1 through ^
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 10:00 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. 9300 South Dadeland Blvd.
Miami, Florida 33156
Florida Professional Reporter
(Stenographically) Reported by:
Boulevard
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2
APPEARANCES
On Behalf of the Witness:
LAW OFFICE OF VAZQUEZ, P.A. Ponce De Leon Blvd.
Suite 200Coral Gables, Florida 33134^ BY: VAZQUEZ, ESQ,
On Behalf of the Tower Hill:
& ASSOCIATES, P.A. South Dadeland Blvd.
4th FloorMiami, Florida 33156 ^ BY: SAMPLE, ESQ.
Also Present: Interpreter
INDEX OF PROCEEDINGS
EUO OF Page
Direct Examination by Mrs. Sample 3Certificate of OathCertificate of ReporterWitness Review LetterErrata Sheet
Boulevard
add .
Boulevard
Ms.4
GLOBAL for Ms. Sample
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3
DEFENDANT'S EXHIBITS
Number Description Page
1 Copy of Driver's License 2 letter dated 9/19/14 3 Response Letter from Vazquez
dated 9/19/2014 3A Photograph 3B Photograph 3C Photograph 3D Photograph 3E Photograph 3F Photograph 3G Photograph 3H Photograph 3I Photograph 3J Photograph 3K Photograph 3L Estimate from Florida Statewide Claims 4 letter dated 10/9/14 5 Letter from Vazquez
dated 5/15/14 5A Photographs 5B Invoice From Plumbing Proffesionals 6 911 Recovery Restoration 7 Letter from Vazquez 5/15/14 7A Photograph 7B Photograph 7C Photograph 7D Photograph 8 6/24/14 Letter 9 Plumbing Professionals Invoice
(Exhibits retained by Sample, Esq.)
there are no defendants in an examination under oath because there is not yet a lawsuit, so there should be no instances of the word "defendant" in this transcript unless spoken by an attorney or witness
GLOBAL
fill in
ProfessionalsThe^
Recovery 911 Restoration
The
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Deposition taken before
Florida Professional Reporter and
Notary Public in and for the State of Florida at
Large in the above cause.
------
THE COURT REPORTER: Do you swear the
testimony you are about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
THE WITNESS: I do.
THEREUPON,
,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and
testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MRS. SAMPLE:
Q. Good morning, Mrs. my name
is Sample and I represent Tower Hill in this
matter.
MR. VAZQUEZ: My name is Vazquez
and represent and
I received a letter dated October 9th
from . It was
signed by Sample and there is a series ---
MRS. SAMPLE: I am going to go through
Examination Under Oath
what about the interpreter?
uncap There is a comma after the witness's name, so this is not the first word of the sentence.
only 2 hyphens to create a dash, not 3
--GLOBAL
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the letter.
MR. VAZQUEZ: Real quick statements on
it.
MRS. SAMPLE: Again, we are here for an
EUO pursuant to the policy. I am not sure where
you are going with this but if there is objections
or anything like that there is no litigation.
MR. VAZQUEZ: No, there is no
objection, I just want to make sure that we get on
the record how we have responded to your request
and your letter dated November 9th.
MRS. SAMPLE: And I am going to mark it
and go through all that today once we start.
MR. VAZQUEZ: Correct. With respect to
number one, we have ---
MRS. SAMPLE: , I am going to go
through each one with the insured not with you.
You are not the insured so I need to
ask Mrs. the questions and I am going to
go through each category.
MR. VAZQUEZ: Let me just make sure
that it's clear, that we are not responding today
with respect to the personal and corporate tax
returns which is number 15. We object, there is no
reason whatsoever to turn over these tax returns.
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October?
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And let me just finish very briefly.
MRS. SAMPLE: I am not going to allow
you to finish because we are here to take the
Examination under oath of your client and of the
insured and if at the time I ask about those
individual inquiries you want to instruct your
client not to answer a question, obviously you
can't object because this isn't litigation, but if
you want to instruct her not to respond to that
inquiry based on your direction that's fine, you
can do that, Not in the forefront.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I have an obligation to
the insured as their lawyer to represent to you
what we have produced in response to your October
9th letter. I have a series of documents which I
am turning over to you and you might as well mark
them.
MRS. SAMPLE: I plan on doing that when
I go through my EUO.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
you please state your full name for the record.
A.
Q. Do you go by any other names?
A. No.
Q. Do you have a middle initial?
, can
uncap Note: Only capped if on ancillary pages or preceding a specific name.
add ,
uncap
keep together
Note: This is a polite request. Even though Morson's 2 states that requests that start with the word "can" should end with a question mark, many reporters will prefer to still use a period. A polite request asks a person to do something or to provide information and cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.
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A. No.
Q. What is your current address, Mrs.
A. 1 ,
Q. Going forward I am going to refer to
that address as the subject property. Okay?
A. Okay.
Q. Or the property, this property, I am
referring to only that address, unless I indicate
otherwise?
A. Okay.
Q. And do you have a driver's license,
A. Yes.
Q. For purposes of identification can you
get that out for us today?
A. Yes, of course.
Q. We are going to mark the driver's
license as Exhibit 1. with a
date of birth
Mrs. are you married?
A. Yes.
Q. What is your husband name?
A.
Mrs. ?
,
keep together
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no ?
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's
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Q. Does he reside at the subject property
with you?
A. Correct.
Q. Mrs.
examination under oath taken before?
A. No.
Q. What you are here for today is called
and examination under oath, it's pursuant to your
policy with Tower Hill. And you are sworn to tell
the truth under oath today and we are going to be
asking you questions about the claim that you have
submitted against Tower Hill.
Do you understand?
And as you have been doing, I am going
to ask that you give verbal responses to my
questions rather than nods of the head, because we
do have a court reporter here today taking down
everything here that you say?
A. Okay.
Q. In addition, if you don't understand my
question, you can ask me to go ahead and rephrase
it and that way I can make sure that your answer is
responsive to what I am trying to seek. Okay?
A. Okay.
Q. If you are giving me an approximation
, have you ever had your
an?
no ?
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about an answer, I prefer that you tell me it's an
approximation, otherwise I am going to assume that
it's responsive to my inquiry. Okay?
A. Yes.
Q. With regard to your examination under
oath, any intentional misrepresentation or
intentional omission of information could
jeopardize your coverage and could be considered a
third degree felony under the laws, do you
understand that?
A. Yes.
Q. Mrs.
2014 I sent a letter to your attorney Mr. Vazquez
indicating that Tower Hill would be requesting your
examination under oath which we'll mark as Exhibit
Number 2, and in that letter it asks that he
provide any documentation pertaining to your claim.
Mr. Vazquez provided a letter in
response dated September 19th of 2014 which we have
with us today which we'll mark as Exhibit 3. And
with that letter he submitted what appears to be an
invoice from the Plumbing Professionals indicating
job number 5381, a Wells Fargo mortgage statement
with redaction of amounts, a sworn statement of
proof of loss dated June 22nd of 2014 and an
, on September 19th of
add -
add , add ,
Note: "The" is part of the official company name and, as such, it needs to be capped.cap
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estimate prepared by Florida Statewide Claims
Consultants Corp, entered on .
And attached to that estimate were
photographs, which were 86 photographs indicating
date taken May 13th of 2014.
Mrs. , we are going to go
through some of these documents during your
examination under oath today, but just for now I
wanted to make sure that we marked them on the
record.
(Thereupon, the letter dated
9/19/14 and Response from Vazquez
dated 9/19/14 was marked as
Defendant's Exhibit No. 2 and 3 for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) As your attorney
indicated at the start of the examination under
oath, Tower Hill, meaning me, sent on October 9th
of 2014 letter specifically indicating the date
that your examination would take place, outlining
your duties after loss and including a list of
documents requested by Tower Hill to assist with
the review of your claim and we are going to mark
this as Exhibit 4.
(Thereupon, the Letter dated
Corp.,
GLOBAL - period after Corp.
were
Nos.
a
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10/9/14 was marked as Defendant's Exhibit
No. 4 for Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
you know if you have ever seen this letter dated
October 9th of 2014?
A. Yes.
Q. Mrs.
English?
A. No.
Q. When you confirm that you have seen
this letter, do you mean that you recognize the
format of this letter?
A. Yes.
Q. In this request Tower Hill asked for
documents. Today your attorney brought with him a
stack of documents which we'll mark as Composite
Exhibit 5. And included in that packet is a May
15th of 2014 correspondence sent to Tower Hill from
your attorney, another copy of that same letter.
Documentation from Recovery 911 Restoration, which
includes one page that has flood service report,
damage, equipment used, damage assessment, work
performed and equipment onsite. A Recovery 911
Restoration work order agreement to perform
services and/or repairs and direct pay
, do
, are you able to read
keep together
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authorization. A recovery 911 Restoration
assignment of insurance benefits dated 4/26 of
2013?
MR. VAZQUEZ: 2014.
MRS. SAMPLE: The assignment of
insurance is dated the 2013.
MR. VAZQUEZ: It's handwritten. It's
probably a scribers error.
(Thereupon, the Documents Produced from
Vazquez was marked as Defendant's
Exhibit No. 5 for Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Recovery 911
Restoration direct pay authorization, dated 4/26 of
2014. A recovery 911 restoration daily humidity
record. Black and white photographs.
MRS. SAMPLE: Do you know how many
pages are here Mr. Vazquez off the top of your
head?
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am going to mark these
as Composite Exhibit 5A.
(Thereupon, the Photographs were marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 5A for
Identification.)
MRS. VAZQUEZ: Which we previously
produced color photographs.
cap
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MR.
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MRS. SAMPLE: I don't have these. If
you did I don't have them.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) A Wells Fargo mortgage
statement with amounts redacted indicating
Florida Statewide Claims Consultant Corp. Estimate,
entered May 31st of 2014, and 86 photographs that
are black and white, and indicate date taken 5/31
of 2014.
What appears to be another copy of the
Plumbing Professional invoice, indicating job
number 5381. A letter dated April 30th of 2014
from Tower Hill to you via your attorney. A second
letter dated April 30th of 2014, from Tower Hill to
you via your attorney. A letter from attorney
Vazquez dated April 26th of 2014 from Tower
Hill.
A copy of the letter dated September
19th of 2014 to me, which we marked already as
Exhibit Number 3. Which included a copy of the
Plumbing Professional invoice, job number 5381.
Wells Fargo mortgage statements to C
with redactions of amounts. A copy of the sworn
statement and proof of loss, dated June 22nd of
2014.
. What appears to be another copy of the
add ,
Note: "Estimate" is okay capped if it's the title on the actual document
no ,
Note: Dates are written as they were said. 5/31 would have been said as "five thirty-one," while April 30th would have been said "April thirtieth." It's reporter preference whether a slash or a hyphen is used in numerical dates, but they should be consistent throughout a transcript.
Note: "Attorney" here is being capped as a title preceeding a name. It would not be capped otherwise.
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A copy of a letter from Mr. Vazquez to
Tower Hill Select Insurance Company dated June 19th
of 2014. A copy of a letter from attorney
Vazquez to Tower Hill dated June 20th of 2014.
Another letter from attorney Vazquez to
Tower Hill, dated June 20th of 2014. A letter from
Vazquez to Tower Hill, dated June 24th of
2014 and enclosing a copy of the sworn statement
and proof of loss dated June 22nd of 2014.
A letter dated June 18th of 2014 from
attorney Vazquez to Tower Hill. A letter dated
August 6th of 2014 from attorney Vazquez to Tower
Hill. A letter dated July 10th of 2014 from Tower
Hill to your attorney and then onto you requesting
the plumbing invoice and video and current and
clear copy of mortgage statement.
A letter dated July 23rd of 2014 from
Tower Hill to your attorney requesting for the
plumber's invoice and video. A copy of the
Plumbing Professional invoice which we have already
referenced, which is job number 5381. A copy of
the mortgage statement from Wells Fargo for
with redaction of amounts. And a letter
dated September 12th of 2014 from attorney
Vazquez to Tower Hill.
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Mrs.
2014 correspondence there were outlined areas of
documents to be submitted. And we are going to go
through each area and you can let us know if you
have any additional documents responsive to this
area other than what has been provided today.
MR. VAZQUEZ: Counsel, I can represent
to you that whatever we have that is responsive to
those requests we have already produced.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
first request is for documents showing and interest
of the insured in the property and encumbrances or
liens on the property.
Do you have any documentation showing
that?
A. We don't have any lien against the
property. And can you repeat the other one that I
don't remember?
Q. A documentation showing your interest
in the property?
A. It's there.
Q. The Well Fargo mortgage statement, is
that what you are referring to?
A. No, I am referring to the damages that
are there in the house.
, in the October 9th of
, the
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Q. My question is if you have any
documents showing the interest that you have in the
house, that makes it towards your house?
A. Yes, the mortgage.
Q. And other than the mortgage do you have
any other documents in reference to the property?
A. No.
Q. And Mrs.
was documents showing any other insurance which may
cover the loss.
Do you have a policy with any other
insurance carrier other than Tower Hill?
A. No.
Q. The third inquiry was any prepurchase
inspection reports, appraisal reports and closing
documents for the purchase of the property.
Do you have any of those documents?
A. I don't understand.
Q. Mrs.
property?
A. Yes.
Q. At the time of the purchase did you
have a formal inspection performed at the property?
A. To buy it, yes.
Q. Do you have a copy of that inspection
, request number two
, did you purchase this
add ,
Note: A direct address ALWAYS needs a comma before and after the name, even after a small word like a conjunction. It's okay if you didn't catch this since they are harder to spot with the redactions.add ,
Note: Prefixes such as "pre" are usually added to words without a hyphen, consult a reputable dictionary such as Merriam-Webster for exceptions
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report?
A. I don't remember, it's been a long
time.
Q. In the fourth inquiry was copies of all
documents evidencing the claimed damage to property
at issue.
Do you have copies of any other
documents other than those that we discussed today
that evidenced the claim damaged to your property?
A. The only other thing would be the
physical evidence that we have in the house, the
holes that we have and that you have already seen.
Q. To clarify, did you say the hose that
you have?
A. The holes. Yes, to be able to put the
vents to be able to dry the house which was wet.
Q. In inquiry number five was any and all
photographs and video evidencing the claims damaged
to your property.
Your attorney produced photographs
obtained by Florida Statewide Claim Consultant and
some additional black and white photographs which
we do not have an indication of who took them.
Do you have any photographs other than
those that are here today?
plural? -- GLOBAL
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A. No.
Q. That evidence the damage to your
property?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
evidencing the claimed damage to your property?
A. No.
Q. Do you have any photographs and videos
depicting the interior and exterior of your lower
kitchen cabinets?
A. No.
Q. Do you have any photographs that show
what the baseboards in your property looked like
before they were removed?
A. No.
Q. Other than what was provided today do
you have any documents evidencing that your
property was damaged on the reported date of loss?
A. No.
Q. Number 10, do you have any estimates,
invoices, bills or statements or other documents
pertaining to the claimed damage property other
than what has been provided today?
A. No.
Q. Other than what we have identified
, do you have any videos
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today, do you have any repair slips, invoices,
bills, estimates or documents pertaining the
plumbing system of the property from the date of
purchase to the present?
A. No.
Q. Your attorney did submit correspondence
sent from him and Tower Hill.
Do you have any other correspondence
other than what has been identified today that was
sent to Tower Hill as it pertains to your claim?
A. No, only what the attorney has and what
you have sent.
Q. With regard to number 15, Tower Hill
requested copies of personal or corporate tax
returns with completed schedules, forms,
attachments, 1009s, addendums and exhibits for you
and your husband. The years 2011 through and
including 2014.
Do you have those documents?
A. No.
Q. Just to clarify, I want to make sure
because at the beginning of this examination under
oath your attorney had identified this category as
being one that you would not be responding to.
So for purposes of clarification is
to?
1099s
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your no that no, you do not actually have tax
returns or no, you are refusing to respond to that
inquiry.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am instructing my
client not to answer.
MRS. SAMPLE: And you are instructing
her not to answer the clarification as to whether
the answer is no she doesn't have those items or
she is refusing to respond, because I need to know
if she is refusing to respond to the inquiry.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am instructing the
client not to respond to the question.
MRS. SAMPLE: To clarify, as to whether
she has those items or whether she is refusing to
answer?
MR. VAZQUEZ: Both.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Just for purposes of
the record, Mrs.
respond to inquiry number 15.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am instructing her not
to respond.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) With regard to inquiry
number 16, any and all documents including
receipts, canceled checks, credit card statements
evidencing payment to the Plumbing Professionals
, are you refusing to
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for any and all work completed at your property
from January 1st 2014 to the present date.
Have you ever made any payment to the
Plumbing Professionals?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Mrs.
company the Plumbing Professionals is?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Today in response to the document
request, your counsel on your behalf presented an
invoice from the Plumbing Professionals, job number
5381.
Mrs.
invoice, do you recall if the Plumbing
Professionals ever came to your property?
A. The problem is that the person that
took the vents and all that, he was in charge of
that.
Q. So you are not aware of who the
Plumbing Professionals are, just to confirm?
A. I saw the plumbing people there but I
don't remember their names.
Q. Did you make any payments to those
plumbing people?
A. No.
, do you know who the
, now that you see this
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Q. 17 was copies of documents including
receipts, canceled checks, credit card statements
evidencing payment to Recovery 911 Restoration for
any and all work completed at the property from
January 1st of 2014 to the present day.
A. You already asked me that question and
I said no that I didn't know.
Q. Mrs.
different company, this is Recovery 911
Restoration, the other company was the Plumbing
Professionals.
So to clarify, you didn't make payment
to Recovery 911 Restoration; correct?
A. No.
Q. Number 18 was copy of any invoices or
estimate prepared by Recovery 911 Restoration as it
pertains to the work performed at your property.
And produced today we had a copy of a
contract with them, assignment of benefits, what
appeared to be a dry out log record, a direct pay
authorization and a daily humidity record.
Mrs.
invoices prepared by 911 Recovery Restoration?
A. Are you asking for an invoices paid?
Q. If you were provided with an invoice?
, this is actually a
, do you have any
Note: Digits can be left at the beginning of a sentence for clarity depending on reporter preference and what the number is in reference to.
add ,
add -
Note: Recovery 911 Restoration is said in about every possible combination throughout the transcript, but the order of the words cannot be changed since they were probably said in that order. The company name should be written correctly in any parentheticals or ancillary pages, though.
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Consultants Corp other than this estimate and the
photograph that are attached to it?
A. No.
Q. Number 20 was copies of water bills for
the property from January 1st of 2013 to the
present date.
Did you provide those documents?
A. No.
Q. Do you have those documents?
A. Yes, I have the bills.
Q. We are going to reiterate the request
of those documents to be submitted to Tower Hill
after your examination under oath today.
Number 21, copies of plumbing videos
depicting the plumbing system of the property from
the date of purchase to present.
Do you have any plumbing video? Other
than the documents submitted today and the water
bills, do you have any other documents in support
of your claim related to Tower Hill?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
level of education that you have obtained?
A. Let me see how I tell you because it
was in Cuba. I finished high school.
, what is the highest
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Q. Mrs.
the United States?
A. I arrived here in December 21st of
1987.
Q. Since you have come to the United
States do you have any certifications or licenses
other than your drivers license?
A. I have a medical assistance license.
Q. Who did you obtain that medical
assistance license through?
A. In a school that was here, I guess it's
still here.
Q. In Miami?
A. Yes.
Q. What year did you obtain that license?
A. I think around 1995.
Q. Is that a license that requires you to
take any continuing education courses?
A. I actually am not practicing.
Q. When is the last time that you
practiced?
A. When I finished my studies I worked for
like a year and then I didn't work anymore on that.
(Recess in Proceedings)
BY MRS. SAMPLE:
, when did you come to
add ,
's
assistant's
t's
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Note: It appears as though the reporter is using this style of by line (on it's own line) after a recess and the other style (in parentheses after Q) after all other interruptions. Even though on the surface it appears inconsistent, it really is consistent with itself.
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Q. Mrs.
didn't mention in the beginning, if at any point
you need to take a break to use the ladies room or
get a drink of water which we have in here, please
let us know that.
A. Thank you.
Q. You indicated that you had your medical
assistance license in 1995 and worked for
approximately a year in that capacity; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you have any other licenses or
certifications?
A. Excuse me, what does that have to do
with the claim present?
Q. Mrs.
questions that Tower Hill has deemed relevant and
that's how we are going to go ahead and proceed and
if you refuse to answer the question that your
prerogative.
A. Okay, go ahead.
Q. And I was just indicating, do you have
any other license other than those that we have
already discussed?
A. I am not going to answer.
Q. And Mrs.
, continuing on, and I
, these are the
, are you currently
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employed?
A. No.
Q. Is Mr. employed?
A. Yes.
Q. What is his position?
A. He does landscaping.
Q. Do you know what his yearly income is?
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am going to instruct
the witness not to answer that.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Just to confirm,
Mrs.
to answer the question regarding your husband's
income; correct?
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am instructing her not
to answer that either.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
year did you purchase the property located at
?
A. 1990.
Q. Before moving into the property did you
perform any repairs, renovations or improvements to
the property?
A. No.
Q. And at that time was your mortgage with
Wells Fargo?
, per your attorney you are refusing
, what
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A. No.
Q. Who was it with at that time?
A. I don't remember. Imagine, they sell
each other every time that they want to so I don't
remember.
Q. Is your mortgage with Wells Fargo
current.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am going to instruct
the witness not to answer.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) And just to confirm,
are you refusing to answer the question whether or
not your mortgage payments are current?
MR. VAZQUEZ: I am instructing the
witness not to answer.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
the time that you moved into the property, actually
to clarify, did you move into the property in 1990
when you purchased it?
A. Yes.
Q. When you moved in were the kitchen
cabinets located in the property now, were they in
the property at that time?
A. No.
Q. Did you install those kitchen cabinets?
A. Yes.
, at
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Q. What year did you install those kitchen
cabinets?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Do you recall if it was in the last
five years?
A. No, more than that.
Q. Farther back?
A. Yes, but I don't remember when was
that.
Q. Where were the kitchen cabinets
purchased?
A. You know close by to the expressway on
your way to Hialeah where there is a lot of kitchen
cabinet companies but I don't remember exactly
where.
Q. Do you recall how much they cost?
A. No.
Q. Do you have any receipts or invoices
from the purchase of those cabinets?
A. No.
Q. Other than installing kitchen cabinets
at some point after you moved into the property,
did you make any other improvements, renovations or
repairs from move in date until the date that this
loss occurred?
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A. Yes.
Q. What did those include?
A. Yes, we remodel the bathrooms, all of
the things kind of get ---
Q. How many bathrooms do you have,
Mrs. ?
A. Three.
Q. Were all three of those renovated
before this loss occurred?
A. Yes, many years ago.
Q. Do you recall what year the bathrooms
were renovated?
MRS. SAMPLE: It seems that there may
be some followup. If you can tell me what she says
and then I have a clear understanding of everything
that's being said.
THE INTERPRETER: Of course.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
confirm the kitchen and the bathroom cabinets were
all renovated at the exact same time; is that
correct?
A. Yes, not exactly at the same time but
more or less the same time, the same year.
Q. Do you know where you purchased the
bathroom cabinets?
, to
follow-up
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A. In different places, but I don't
remember.
Q. How much did the bathroom cabinets
cost?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Do you have any receipts or invoices
indicating your purchase of bathroom cabinets?
A. No.
Q. Other than installing cabinets in the
bathroom, did you make any other renovations to the
bathroom at the property?
A. No.
Q. So only the cabinets. The walls, the
shower, the tub that all stayed the same; correct?
A. Yes, I removed the toilet and all of
that.
Q. And specifically, Mrs.
the master bathroom did you remove and replace the
toilet in the master bathroom?
A. Yes. No, I am sorry not the toilet.
We actually removed the tub and put a shower.
Q. Did you also replace the cabinets in
the master bathroom?
A. Yes.
Q. Other than replacing the cabinets and
, in
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moving the tub and replacing the shower, was any
other remodeling done to the master bathroom up to
the date of loss?
A. No.
Q. What about in the hall bathroom,
Mrs.
what renovations were made to the hall bathroom
from the date of purchase to the date of loss?
With regard to the hall bathroom what
renovations were made in the hall bathroom from the
date of purchase up to the date of loss.
A. I replaced the toilet and we put the
cabinet in the bathroom.
Q. Do the walls remain the same and the
floors remain the same in that hall bathroom?
A. Yes. Replaced the floors and we
replaced the walls, too.
Q. Other than replacing the floor and
walls, the cabinet and the toilet, were any other
renovations made to that hall bathroom from the
date of purchase to the date of loss?
A. And then the tub also.
Q. And you replaced the tub; is that
correct?
A. Yes.
, with regard to the hall bathroom,
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Q. What about the third bathroom,
Mrs.
third bathroom?
A. No, not that one, that's a kew one.
Q. Did you say that was not a new one?
A. That is a new one.
Q. When was that bathroom installed?
A. Sometime after we moved. The other
once were old. Because it was very old.
Q. With regard to the third bathroom, you
indicated that was new. Did you add that bathroom
into the property after moving in?
A. Yes, it was too small and then we make
it.
Q. When you say you make it, you made a
larger, can you clarify what you mean?
A. Yes, we make it new, basically, we make
it more beautiful, we renew everything.
Q. What year did you do that?
A. I don't remember. A little bit after
we moved but I don't remember exactly when.
Q. To clarify, in that bathroom did you
replace the toilet, the cabinets, the walls, and
the tub as well?
A. Yes, it's a shower. It doesn't have
, was any renovations made to the
new
ones
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any cabinets. And we replaced the sink and we
replaced the toilet.
Q. How many bedrooms does the property
have, Mrs. ?
A. Three.
Q. Have there always been three bedrooms
in the property from the date that you purchased it
until the date of loss?
A. Yes.
Q. Other than the bedrooms and bathrooms
what other rooms are in your property for the
layout of your house?
A. When you come in you find a large
living room, there is a hall after that, the
kitchen, the Florida room, and the dining room.
Q. From the date of purchase until the
date that this loss occurred, other than installing
new kitchen cabinets did you make any other
renovations to the kitchen?
A. Yes.
Q. What else did you do there?
A. The kitchen was very small, yes, we
expanded the kitchen, we make the hallway a little
bit smaller and we expanded the space with the
kitchen.
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Q. What year was that?
A. When I put the cabinets but I don't
remember when.
Q. When you installed the cabinets did you
put on new countertops as well?
A. Yes, we replaced it. I used some kind
of stone, it's not marble. I don't know the name
exactly but it's some kind of stone.
Q. Do you know if it's granite?
A. No, it's like a polished stone, like
marble, but it's not.
Q. Do you know where you purchased that
countertop?
A. Well, the people that you go to and
they basically made it custom made and they install
it for you.
Q. Do you know what company that was?
A. No.
Q. Do you recall how much it cost?
A. No.
Q. With regard to the back splash in the
kitchen, did you install a new back splash at the
time that you renovated?
A. Yes, the back splash is made of the
same material.
add ,
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Note: "Custom made" is an adjective-participle compound adjective. Morson's 148 does not specifically address this combination. Gregg 822 says to hyphenate these before AND after a noun. BGGP Hyphen.29 says compound adjectives do not get hyphenated when following the noun.
one word
GLOBAL
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Q. The polished stone?
A. Yes.
Q. Again, just to confirm, do you recall
how much that stone cost for the back splash?
A. No, I don't remember.
Q. You don't recall the year that you made
that renovations, correct?
A. I don't remember.
Q. With regard to the dining room, were
any renovations made to the dining room from 1990
until the date of loss?
A. We replaced the floor.
Q. What type of floor did you install?
A. Actually, to all of the house.
Q. Is it continuous through every single
room in the house?
A. Yes, except the bathrooms.
Q. And so it's continuous into the
bedrooms; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. What year did you replace all of the
flooring in the house?
A. I don't remember.
Q. What type of flooring did you install?
A. The normal floor that you would use.
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Q. Do you know the material, is it wood,
carpet, tile?
A. It's tile.
Q. Do you know if it's marble or ceramic,
porcelain?
A. It's not marble, it has to be ceramic.
Q. Do you know how much it cost to
purchase that tile and install it?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Did you make the floor replacement at
the same time that you renovated the kitchen and
bathrooms?
A. No.
Q. Did you do that before or after you
replaced the kitchen cabinets?
A. Before.
Q. Do the kitchen cabinets rest on top of
that floor tile?
A. Yes.
Q. Other than replacing the floor
throughout did you make any other renovations to
the dining room, Florida room, or hallway or living
room from the date of purchase until the date of
loss?
A. Well, you know, it's logic that we
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painted the house, we maintain the property.
Q. You painted the interior; is that
correct?
A. Since 1990 to this day we have painted
a few times. And we also installed baseboards and
--- the same baseboard that you put on top, I don't
remember the name.
Q. Crown molding?
A. Yes.
Q. What rooms did you install baseboards
in the property?
A. In the whole house.
Q. So they were in the hallway and in the
kitchen, living room, dining room and Florida room?
A. Actually, in the kitchen we have the
baseboards of the cabinets.
Q. Which rooms did you install crown
molding?
A. In all of them.
Q. Again, the kitchen, living room, dining
room, Florida room?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you recall how much the crown
molding cost?
A. No, I don't remember that.
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Q. Do you know what year you installed the
crown molding?
A. No.
Q. Was it more than five years ago?
A. Yes.
Q. With regards to the baseboards, were
those installed more than five years ago?
A. Yes, also.
Q. Do you recall the cost of the
baseboards?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
through South Florida August 25th of 2005. Were
you living in the property when hurricane Katrina
came through?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the interior of your property incur
any damage from hurricane Katrina?
A. No, only the roof. The roof of the
house.
Q. Was there any leaking into the property
from the roof being damaged from Katrina?
A. Yes.
Q. What rooms had leaks from hurricane
Katrina?
, hurricane Katrina came cap
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A. Actually, it removed the whole roof so
we had to do a new one.
Q. Hurricane Katrina was August, hurricane
Wilma was ---
A. I think it was Katrina I don't want to
lie.
Q. Three months after Katrina hurricane
Wilma came through on October 24th?
A. I know it was one but I don't remember
which one.
Q. Either Katrina or Wilma damaged the
roof; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. When you say it was damaged, the entire
roof completely came off your property?
A. Most of it.
Q. So if I were standing in your house
would I have been able to look up and see the sky
after the hurricane?
A. No, because there is this -- the house
is made of that carton paper and there is some wood
that's on top of that and then the roof as it is.
Q. Is the roof in 2005, was that tiles,
was the roof tiles?
A. Yes, it was always the same. Actually,
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actually pour into the florida room and spread onto
the floor in other rooms of the house?
A. Correct.
Q. What rooms did it spread into?
A. To the dining room. I don't remember
if it spread to the bedrooms honestly, I don't
remember.
Q. Did it spread all the way to the living
room?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Did it spread into the kitchen?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Was there any damage to the dining room
floors or baseboards from that water leak?
A. Then we didn't have any baseboards.
Q. So the baseboards were installed in the
dining room after that time?
A. After.
MRS. SAMPLE: Can we go off the record
for two minutes.
(Recess in Proceedings)
BY MS. SAMPLE:
Q. Mrs.
there were no baseboards in the dining room at the
time of the hurricanes in 2005 and the baseboards
, you indicated that
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were installed after that time; correct?
A. Yes. I just don't remember when but it
was after that.
Q. Was there any damage to the dining room
from the leaks?
A. No.
Q. So you were able to completely dry up
any leaks from the hurricanes inside of the dining
room?
A. Yes.
Q. With regard to the Florida room, was
there any damage to the Florida room floor from
those leaks?
A. No, it has a tile.
Q. Was the ceiling in the Florida room
damaged from those leaks?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you completely make the repairs to
the ceiling of the Florida room?
A. Yes. Yes, the insurance that I had
back then I don't remember which one covered that.
Q. To confirm, you did make an insurance
claim for whether it was Wilma or Katrina, that
hurricane?
A. Yes, we called and they came to the
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house and they saw it.
Q. Did they issue payment to you for your
claimed damages from those hurricanes?
A. Yes, they covered the roof, they paid
for the roof.
Q. Did they pay for any interior damage?
A. I don't remember.
Q. You don't recall what insurance company
that was?
A. I don't remember. The problem is that
they change all of the time. I don't remember if
it was Wells Fargo, I don't remember.
Q. Just to confirm, Wells Fargo is who the
mortgage is with, the insurance company that you
have right now is Tower Hill, so to confirm did you
make a claim to the insurance company for the
hurricane damage?
A. Yes, I am sorry I mentioned Wells Fargo
but I was really thinking about State Farm.
Q. Do you know if you ever had insurance
with State Farm or are you using that as an
example?
A. No, I think that I had it.
Q. Did State Farm provide you with an
estimate of what their payment was based on?
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A. I don't remember if it was this
company.
Q. Did the company that paid you provide
you with an estimate of what their payment was
based on?
A. They went to my house, yes, they told
me what they were going to give me for the roof and
then they sent me a check.
Q. They didn't give you any written
payment of what the breakdown of the check was for?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Did you hire a company to assist you
with that claim?
A. No.
Q. Do you have any photographs of what
condition of your property looked like showing the
hurricane damage?
A. No.
Q. Do you have any documentation that was
provided to you pertaining to the claimed hurricane
damage from the insurance company?
A. No.
Q. Were all of the repairs from the
claimed hurricane loss completed?
A. Yes.
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Q. Were those completed before this
claimed loss that we are here for today?
A. Of course, that was in 2005.
Q. To confirm, do you know if the kitchen
cabinets that you replaced, did you replace those
after the hurricane or before?
A. After.
Q. When you renovated the bathroom, was
that before the hurricane claim or after?
A. That I don't remember.
Q. Were the hallway baseboards damaged
from the hurricane claim?
A. We didn't have any baseboards.
Q. At the time of the hurricane the
hallway didn't have any baseboards?
A. No.
Q. After the hurricane did the hallway
have baseboards installed?
A. After.
Q. Was the drywall damaged at all from the
hurricane in the hallway?
A. No.
Q. Prior to the claim that we are here for
today. Did you have any plumbing issues at your
property?
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A. No.
Q. Did you ever submit a claim to an
insurance company other than the hurricane claim?
A. I don't remember.
Q. From 2005 until the date this loss
occurred, did you submit any insurance claim for
damage to your property?
A. Can you repeat the date?
Q. From the date of the hurricane until
2005, until the date that this loss occurred, did
you submit any claim to the insurance company for
damage to the property?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Do you recall ever having damage in
your house from after you made the repairs after
the hurricane up until this loss occurred?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Mrs. , what's the date that
the loss occurred which we are here for today that
you reported to Tower Hill?
A. I know it was in April, I don't
remember the exact date.
Q. Were you the one that discovered the
loss?
A. Yes.
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Q. What happened on that date?
A. What do you mean what happened.
Q. What made you realize that there was an
issue in your property?
A. I went out to say goodbye to a family
that was visiting and when I came back to the
house -- we stayed outside for about 20 minutes or
something like that and when I came back that I
went to the kitchen I saw the whole floor full of
water. I thought that it was the air-conditioning
so when I turned around I saw that the water was
coming from the bathroom in the hallway.
Q. Mrs.
came back into the house after being outside for 20
minutes. What entrance to the house did you use
when you came back into the house?
A. Actually, I came back from the same
place that I came out from, the main door.
Q. Is that the front door of the property?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have to walk through the living
room to get into the kitchen at that time?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see any water in the living
room when you first came in?
, you indicated that you
add ?
no -
-- when used as a nounGLOBALverb and adjective forms are hyphenated
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A. Actually, not from where I walked
through but there was water in the living room.
Q. When you walked through the living room
you didn't see any water when you first came back
in the house; correct?
A. From where I walked no, there was no
water.
Q. When you went into the kitchen where
did you see water located?
A. On the floor, in the area where you see
the floor.
Q. Was it covering the entire floor of the
kitchen?
A. Actually, less the space where the sink
is, yes.
Q. SO everywhere except where the sink
was, did you say less where the sink was?
A. Yes, except where the sink is. The
kitchen is not that big anyway.
Q. So the area immediately in front of the
sink on the floor there was no water that you saw
there; is that correct?
A. Not in that little space, no. After
that it spread, of course.
Q. Pardon me?
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A. After that the water spread, of course.
Q. When you walked in was there any water
coming out of the top of the kitchen sink, over the
top of the sink?
A. No.
Q. You indicated that you thought it was
coming from the A/C. Is the A/C unit located in
the kitchen area?
A. No.
Q. Where is the A/C unit located?
A. Close to the bathroom that's in the
hallway.
Q. Does it have it's own little closet in
the hallway?
A. Yes.
Q. Had you previously had any leaks from
the A/C unit?
A. No.
Q. What made you think that the water
might be Coming from the A/C unit at that time?
A. Since that bathroom we don't use it
that much I never thought it was the bathroom.
Q. Was there something that made you think
it was the A/C?
A. No, there was nothing specific, it was
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just what I thought.
Q. Did you go over to the A/C closet?
A. It's next to the bathroom.
Q. Did you look into the A/C closet at
that time?
A. I didn't have the need to do that
because I saw that the water was coming from the
bathroom.
Q. How deep was the water that was in the
kitchen, was it less than half an inch deep?
A. Imagine, I didn't measure it. I don't
remember.
Q. Did it cover your feet?
A. Yes, actually it covered my feet, my
shoes got wet, not all the way up but my shoes got
wet.
Q. Did it go over the top of your shoe,
when you were walking through was it deep enough to
cover your whole shoe?
A. Actually, it wet my feet. Not the
shoes but my fees.
Q. Did it cover the top of your feet when
you were standing in the kitchen and looked down?
Was it so deep that your feet were completely
covered?
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A. Actually, I thought about solving the
problem, I didn't look at my feet or thinking about
that.
Q. I am trying to establish the amount of
water that was in the kitchen.
A. Yes, but I don't remember.
Q. Was anyone home with you at the time
that you first discovered the water in the kitchen?
A. My husband.
Q. He was home at that time?
A. Yes, he was with me outside or he was
arriving, I don't remember exactly.
Q. Just to confirm, you don't know whether
he was outside with you or he came home after; is
that correct?
A. I don't remember if he arrived at that
moment from work or if he was outside with me, I
don't remember.
Q. When you walked into the front door
after being outside, did he walk inside of the
front door with you at that time?
A. I don't remember if he was with me. If
he was arriving he would come from the back door, I
don't remember.
Q. Mrs. , I didn't ask you this
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before, but did you take any medication that might
affect your memory or ability to testify before you
came today?
A. I am not going to answer that question.
Q. I am going to ask your attorney,
Mr. Vazquez, for purposes of testifying, if you
have medication that could affect your memory that
you have taken today then we would need to take
your examination under oath when you are not under
those medication that could affect your memory and
that's the reason that we are asking you that
question.
MR. VAZQUEZ: The witness has told you
that she doesn't want to answer. She is giving you
her best answers and she is very lucid, there is no
way that she is with any medication.
MRS. SAMPLE: Are you indicating that
she is not under any medication.
MR. VAZQUEZ: She is not under any
medication, none whatsoever.
A. I am lucid and on top of that there are
things that you might forget because they happened
a long time ago I don't have all of the information
on top of my head.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs. ,
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that's a standard question that I ask at the
beginning it has nothing to do with how you have
responded so far, it's something that I should have
asked you in the beginning.
A. Well you should have asked the question
before because we have been here for almost two
hours.
Q. As you have and your counsel has
indicated, you haven't taken any medicines that
affect your memory so fortunately it didn't make a
difference and we can continue on.
Mrs.
weren't sure if your husband was there if he would
have come in the back door; do you have a garage at
your property?
A. No, there is a back door that goes
through the patio, the back patio.
Q. You indicated that there was water in
the kitchen and that you came out and saw that it
was coming from the bathroom.
What other areas did you see water
within the subject property when you first noticed
it?
A. Actually, the kitchen and all of the
area of the wall where the living room is.
, you indicated that you
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Q. Other than the kitchen and the area of
the wall where the living room is, was there water
in any other location?
A. In the bathroom where the toilet is.
In the kitchen and that area in the living room.
Q. How far into the living room did the
water spread?
A. The whole area, like this wall right
here in the room where we are, like from here to
the wall, all that area (indicating).
Q. Mrs.
in Exhibit three photographs. They were provide by
your counsel. I am going to mark it Exhibit 3A.
Can you tell me, Mrs.
area of the property this photograph depicts?
A. Like here, there is the bathroom. This
is the living room and this is part of the kitchen.
You see that there is crown molding here. This is
the top of the kitchen and this area right here is
the kitchen. So all of this area here it was full
of water.
(Thereupon, the Photographs were marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3A for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs.
, I am going to mark as
, what
, I am
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going to ask you to pause for one moment so I can
confirm.
When you indicated over here, for the
record I am going to need you to clarify going
forward. I need you to say to the right of the
picture or below, to clarify when I am not with
you. So where I put an X, is that part of the
living room wall?
A. Yes.
Q. Where there is a little flower pot and
I circled, that is the kitchen?
A. Yes, that's the kitchen. That's part
of the countertop?
Q. To the right of the X, is that where
the bathroom is located?
A. Yes. This wall is a little bit right
of the picture and then there is the bathroom.
Q. In Exhibit 3B, Mrs.
this photograph depicted the living room wall?
A. Yes.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as
Defendant's Exhibit No. 3B for
Identification.)
A. This whole area had water, this is the
, does
one word
no ?
formatting
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entrance. This is if you go to the right there is
a bedroom here, there is another bedroom and then
to the left of this wall there is a bathroom.
Q. I am going to put an X on this
photograph where you just indicated to the left of
that open space is the bathroom, where you
indicated that you had water in; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. How far out from the wall in the living
room did the water come from that wall?
A. Perhaps from here to the wall.
Q. And to confirm since she is not able to
take that down, do you have an approximation of
feet?
A. No, I don't know.
Q. When I am looking at this photograph
from the wall I am able to see at least two tiles.
Did the water go further past those
tiles in the living room?
A. Yes, more.
Q. Do you know how much more, how many
more tiles approximately?
A. I would say three and-a-half to four
tiles.
Q. Was that along the entire living room
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unhyphenate
Note: "and a half" does not get hyphenated unless it combines with another word to create a compound adjective; e.g., "three-and-a-half-inch tiles." "Three and a half" by itself is recognized as a unit without the hyphens.
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wall?
A. Yes, in this whole wall until the area
where the kitchen is at. If you see in this
picture.
Q. You are referring, for the record, to
photograph 3A?
A. If you see in this picture it's right
here.
Q. With regard to the kitchen you
indicated that the water was in the area except for
in front of the sink.
In photograph 3C was there water in
front of the refrigerator in picture 3C?
A. Yes.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3C for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) The wall behind the
refrigerator shares the wall with the living room;
correct?
A. Correct. From the other side you can
see that you see the same flowerpot that you are
referring to.
Q. Mrs.
all of the cabinets in the floor base depicted
, was there water along
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picture in 3C?
A. Yes, in all of it.
Q. Mrs.
pointed in photo 3C, is that the hallway?
A. Yes.
Q. If I were to continue down, would that
be the living room to the right that we just looked
at in the prior photograph?
A. Yes. This wall (Indicating).
Q. Behind the refrigerator; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Was there any water where that arrow is
pointed on those tiles?
A. The water came through here, continued
here and it went through here (Indicating).
Q. Did the water come down along the wall
in the living room and then veer down this tiled
area into the kitchen?
A. Actually there was water from the other
side of the wall and then through the kitchen here
and all the water was here and there was water
coming from that wall too.
And actually, if you perhaps in another
picture there would be some holes of the things
that we had to dry from that wall.
, where I have an arrow
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Q. Mrs.
question. The tile area depicted where the arrow
is, was there any water on these tiles?
A. Yes.
Q. I am going to write on it so I can
remember specifically where you are speaking where
there is water.
Exhibit 3D is another photograph that
was submitted by your counsel from Florida
Statewide Claims Consultant Corp. This photograph
depicts your kitchen; correct?
A. Part of it.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3D for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) And does it depict the
kitchen sink?
A. Yes, the washing dishwasher, part of
the kitchen and this is the sink.
Q. Mrs.
indicated there was no water in front of the
kitchen sink.
So based on this photograph was there
no water where that little red -- what appears to
be a red carpet in these few tiles are located?
, I have very particular
, to confirm you add ,
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A. There was no water at the moment when I
came in but then there was water spread there. At
that moment when I came in there was no water.
Q. I am going to mark that as 3E.
Can you tell me where these stools are
located, what room are those stools located in?
A. This is the kitchen and this part
belongs to the dining room.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3E for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) You indicated there
was water in the kitchen living room and bathroom.
Was there any water in the dining room where these
chairs are located?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
circling, big circle, is that area in the dining
room?
A. You can see that there is a hallway
right here. This is the kitchen, the dining room
is here and here is the family room (indicating).
Q. Below the circle would be where the
family room is; correct?
A. This belongs to the Florida room.
, the area that I am
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Q. Does Exhibit 3F depict the dining room?
A. Yes.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3F for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) To confirm no water
went no the dining room; correct?
A. No.
Q. What room does Exhibit 3G depict where
there is a refrigerator?
A. That's like a little room where I have
the drier and the washing machine and an extra
refrigerator there.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3G for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Did any water go in
that room?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
this depict a bathroom at your property?
A. This is the number three bathroom that
I told you that doesn't have cabinets.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3H for
, photograph 3H, does
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64
the just around the toilet?
A. In all of this area (indicating).
Q. Confirming for the record, can you
describe what area you are referring to, is that
around the toilet on the floor?
A. The area where the toilet is, the whole
floor and it continued spreading.
Q. It spread into the hall; correct?
A. Yes, through the hallway and then here
there is where the closet, where the
air-conditioner is and through there it went
through the kitchen.
Q. And just to confirm, was there any
water in the actual closet that holds the A/C unit?
A. Yes.
Q. When you say and then it continued
through there to the kitchen, did you mean through
the actual A/C closet into the kitchen or down the
hall into the kitchen?
A. There is only one wall there, I guess
it just spread underneath because there is only one
wall.
Q. I am trying to clarify what you said so
I understand. When you indicated that there was
water in the A/C closet and then it spread through
no -
GLOBAL
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there into the kitchen. Did you mean through the
wall from the A/C closet into the kitchen or it
continued down the hall into the kitchen?
A. I assume, I know the water was there, I
am just assuming, I don't know if it was through
the wall or through the closet, through the A/C
closet, but I know that water was everywhere.
Q. When you saw the water and you
determined that it was in the bathroom, did you do
anything to clean up the water in the house?
A. Of course.
Q. What did you do?
A. First of all I just closed the main
water and then tried to take out all of the water
from the house.
Q. Where was the main water located?
A. It's located in the back in the patio,
but I have two. There is one that I can close
that's like for emergency and there is one that
belongs to the water company that you can also
close.
Q. Which of those is the one that's
located in the back in the patio, the emergency one
or the water company one?
A. The company one.
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Q. That's the one that you turned off; is
that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you also turn off the one that you
said was for an emergency?
A. Yes.
Q. So you turned both of them off; is that
correct?
A. Well not me, my husband.
Q. Your husband the one that turned off
the valves; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. When you saw water in the bathroom were
you able to tell where it was coming from?
A. Yes, it flooded from on top of the
toilet.
Q. So the toilet itself was overflowing;
is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. We had marked 3J before, that depicted
the bathroom; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. When you say the water was overflowing
from the toilet, was it coming from the top where
there is currently a lid, was it pouring over the
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top?
A. Yes.
Q. And you were able to see that at the
moment that you entered the bathroom?
A. Yes.
Q. Prior to going outside had you used
that bathroom?
A. No, actually we rarely use that
bathroom because I have mine.
Q. You indicated that you were saying
goodbye to some family. Did any of the family
members use or flush that toilet before they left?
A. No, none of them.
Q. Other than that toilet overflowing was
there anything else in the property that had water
overflowing out of it at that time?
A. Later on the tub and then my tub also.
Actually my shower also.
Q. Just to confirm, I am talking about
when you first noticed the water in the property?
A. Yes.
Q. Just the toilet at that time; correct?
A. Yes.
Q. At what point in time did your bathtub
in photograph 3J overflow?
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A. We tried to use the plunger on the
toilet just thinking that something might be stuck
in it and then the water just started overflowing
from the top.
Q. I am going to go back a little bit.
You first indicated that you first went to turn off
the valve?
A. Yes.
Q. After you turned off the valve what did
you do next?
A. Then we tried to dry the water.
Q. What did you use to dry the water?
A. I used all of the towels that I have
handy and then I used the mop, and then I used --
everything that I could use to be able to dry the
water.
Q. Mrs.
that you tried to plunge the toilet, was that after
you dried up the water or before?
A. After.
Q. So when you turned off the water valve
did you go see if there was still water pouring
over the top of the toilet?
A. I don't remember exactly because what I
did was I tried to dry the water. When something
, when you indicated
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like that happens it's not easy.
Q. Are you aware of whether turning off
the valve stopped the water from overflowing in the
toilet?
A. I know that we had to open those leads
that are outside of the house that are like for
emergency from the big pipes so that the water
could just come out through there because the water
was still in the house.
Q. Just to confirm, what I am asking is
when your husband first turned off both of the
water valves did the water stop overflowing over
the top of the toilet at that time?
A. No, like I told you it started coming
out through all of the tops and all of that.
Q. So as you are drying the water up water
was still coming into the house?
A. Yes, it started going back through the
other toilets and through the tubs.
Q. That occurred while you were drying the
property?
A. I know that it happened. I don't know
exactly when it happened but I know it happened.
Q. You turned off the valve, you dried the
water, at some point you plunged the toilet in the
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bathroom; is that correct?
A. Yes, because we have a septic tank.
Then we opened the main pipes that go to the septic
water so that the water would come out because the
water wouldn't stop.
Q. Was that all done the same day that you
first saw the water in the property?
A. Not only the same day, at the same
moment, everything happened at the same moment.
Q. Did your husband plunge the toilet or
did you?
A. Both of us, after we dried.
Q. So after you dried you went to plunge
the toilet, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. And when you went to plunge the toilet
at that time did you see water was coming over the
top or was the bowl just full?
A. Yes, it was actually slowing down. It
was still in the toilet, the water was not
overflowing but it started coming out through the
top.
Q. That started to happen when you started
to plunge; correct?
A. That is correct.
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Q. With regard to the tub that was in the
hallway bathroom where you say the water
overflowed, did it actually fill the tub and go
over the tub into the bathroom?
A. No.
Q. Did water just back up into the bottom
of the tub?
A. Yes, the bottom, it was full of water.
Q. And was that water brown or black?
A. Black.
Q. Black water in the base of the tub?
A. Yes.
Q. With regard to the water that
overflowed from the toilet into the bathroom, was
that water clear?
A. Yes, clear.
Q. After you plunged the toilet and the
water came up into the bathtub, what did you do
next?
A. I already told you, opened the pipes
there to be able to have the water just come out.
Q. That was after you plunged; correct?
A. Yes. Since the water wasn't going
anywhere we had to find a solution.
Q. Where are those pipes located?
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A. Around the house outside.
Q. Did your husband do that or you?
A. Between the two of us.
Q. When those were opened did anything
come out of the pipes?
A. Yes, yes, all the water that was
accumulated there.
Q. When you say all of that water came out
of the pipes, when you came back into the house was
there any water overflowing into the bathroom at
that point or out of the toilet at that point?
A. The valve was closed.
Q. Correct, but you had indicated that the
valves were closed before and water was still
backing up into the toilet, so my question is, when
you opened those pipes did water come out?
A. Yes, after that there was no water in
the pipes.
Q. Were you able to completely dry up the
water in the house after that?
A. The floor, yes.
Q. That same night; correct?
A. That same day the floor.
Q. I didn't ask you but at what time did
you first see the water in the house, what time of
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day was it?
A. It was about seven or eight, I don't
remember. P.m. but I don't remember exactly.
Q. Was anybody else at the home other than
just you and your husband?
A. No.
Q. After you dried up the water off the
floors did you do anything else that evening?
A. We finished drying, we finished drying
so we could take a shower and just do our normal
stuff.
Q. So you took a shower that evening?
A. Of course.
Q. Which bathroom did you use?
A. My bathroom.
Q. Is your bathroom a shower or a tub?
A. Shower.
Q. Did you turn the water valves back on
so that you can take a shower that evening?
A. Correct. And then we left the pipes
outside open so that the water would be able to
run.
Q. After you took a shower did you notice
if any other water had come into the property?
A. No.
Note: May be a preference, but Morson's Rule 184 says the "M" should be lower case when a.m. or p.m. starts a sentence. BGGP Number.21 actually advocates the possibility of using caps for A.M. and P.M. to avoid situations like this.
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Q. To clarify, no you didn't notice or no
other water came into the property?
A. No, I didn't notice.
Q. Did your husband also take a shower
that evening?
A. Correct.
Q. Also in the master bathroom?
A. Yes.
Q. So two showers took place after this
loss occurred that night; correct?
A. Yes, but not in that bathroom.
Q. In the master bathroom?
A. Yes.
Q. At any point did you close the pipes
outside again that night?
A. You mean the main key, the main valve?
Q. You indicated that you opened pipes
outside so that the water could get out.
Did you close the pipes that night?
A. No, I didn't say that I opened, there
are some pipes that is for the water and all of the
things that come out of the bathroom.
Q. Mrs.
lids back in after you took the showers that night?
A. No, we left it like that.
, did you ever put the
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Q. After you took your showers did you
turn the main valves back off or did you leave them
open?
A. No, we left it open.
Q. Did you visibly see any damage to the
interior of your property that night from this
water event?
A. You mean after it dried and everything?
Q. After you dried up the water, was there
any visible damage to any area of your property
that night?
A. Well, actually you know it was about
eleven when we finished and we were tired. The
next day is when I saw everything wet, the
baseboards and the cabinets and everything.
Q. Which rooms did you see wet baseboards
the next day?
A. In the picture that you showed me from
the living room.
Q. Were the baseboards wet in any room
other than the living room?
A. The ones in the kitchen.
Q. You indicated that the kitchen had
cabinet baseboards, did I misunderstand that?
A. No. No. What I said it's not the same
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baseboard as in the rest of house, but they are the
baseboards that go with the cabinets in the
kitchen. The cabinet is by itself, then there is a
baseboard the ones that go with the cabinets. You
can see them there.
Q. Which ones, can I see? Are you able to
find a picture that shows that.
Does photograph 3C show the baseboards
that you are talking about?
A. These are the baseboards. It's like a
molding that's independent from the cabinets. They
put the cabinets and then they put that molding
afterwards.
Q. That's at the base of the cabinets?
A. You see the molding here is the same
that is here (indicating).
Q. We'll mark that 3K. And just to
confirm 3K, you indicated the top of the cabinets
have a molding that's also reflected in the bottom
and you can see the bottom in this photo.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3k for
Identification.)
(Recess in Proceedings)
BY MRS. SAMPLE:
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kitchen is when you remove the refrigerator that
wall there was damaged too.
Actually, I don't know what happened to
the walls next to the cabinets because the cabinets
have not yet been removed so I don't know. And
actually, all of the area where the
air-conditioner, the little closet that holds the
air-conditioning unit was damaged too.
Q. What was the damage that you saw in the
A/C closet?
A. All of the baseboards we have to remove
and all the wall was wet.
Q. Why did you need to remove the
baseboards in that closet?
A. They were wet, they were full of water?
Q. Did the water actually saturate into
the baseboard? For example, if I pour water in
this baseboard I could wipe it off. Were you not
able to wipe the water off the baseboard?
A. Correct.
Q. You indicated that the drywall in that
A/C closet was also wet. Although it was wet how
was it actually damaged?
A. What I meant is it was damaged by the
water.
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Q. How was it damaged by the water?
A. Yes, there were stains on the wall and
also we have to open a hole there to be able to put
the vent to try and dry the area.
Q. You indicated that you opened the hole,
was that within the A/C closet or are you talking
about the wall in the living room?
A. In several places. In the living room,
in the space where you are going to come into the
kitchen. Let me look at the picture, I forgot the
name now.
Q. Mrs.
referred to, are those depicted in photograph 3A?
A. I think that I saw a picture with those
holes.
Q. But that's not photo 3A?
A. No, in another one I saw it.
Q. Mrs.
out in the A/C closet?
A. I don't remember. I don't remember. I
don't remember if they opened a hole or not. They
put a vent but I don't remember if they opened a
hole or not.
Q. With regard to the kitchen cabinets you
indicated that the baseboard on the kitchen
, are the holes that you
, was there a hole cut
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cabinets became wet. Were you able to dry that?
A. Well I dried the floor as much as I
could but then they have to put vents there.
Q. I understand that you dried the floors.
My question is the baseboards that were under the
cabinet that you showed me before, were you able to
dry those before anybody came out?
A. Actually, I just dried the water that I
could see was visible, what was inside of the
cabinets I couldn't.
Q. Did water actually go inside the
cabinet? If I were to open the cabinets doors
underneath the sink did water go into that area?
A. There is a cover that doesn't allow you
to see the floor.
Q. I am talking about the base of the
cabinet that you can see when you open the cabinet
under the kitchen sink and you would look into and
what you would set items on, did water go into that
area that you could see?
A. No, I didn't see water in the cabinet
but they are resting on top of the floor, but there
is a board this big underneath and then the
cabinets start (indicating).
Q. Did the water go as high as you
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indicated, this big, and I am going to say
approximately the base of the cabinets is
approximately three inches; is that correct?
A. I said that but I am not sure about the
measurement, I can not tell you the measurements.
Q. Mrs.
already indicating that that was the kitchen sink;
correct?
A. Correct.
Q. And there is cabinets located
underneath the kitchen sink; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. When you opened those cabinets and look
inside did water from the overflow toilet get
inside there? Was it so deep that it flooded into
that over the top?
A. No, in that area it was not inside of
the cabinets.
Q. Was it inside any of the kitchen
cabinets?
A. The bottom part was wet. Are you
asking after shelves or after the floor, no, it
didn't seem that there was water there.
Q. So just the bottom of the cabinets just
got wet?
, in photograph 3D, you
Note: Google "cannot or can not." One word is actually more common, but two words is not "incorrect" and can actually be used for emphasis. Doesn't hurt to mark it and let the reporter make the call.
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A. Yes, but after the baseboards there is
the cabinet there.
Q. Just the baseboard got wet; is that
correct?
A. Actually, you cannot see the other side
when you see it on the other direction from inside
of the kitchen you can see that all that was wet.
Actually, to see the front of the cabinets I would
have to remove the baseboards and I didn't.
Q. Mrs.
isn't clear so I am going to ask it a different
way.
You have kitchen cabinets, under your
kitchen cabinets you have a base that we have
already discussed. Did the water ever run to a
level above the base and flow into any of the
kitchen cabinets? If you were to open the door was
there water inside of them?
A. The problem is that the one that
doesn't understand me is you.
Q. I understand, I am saying that I don't
understand.
A. Give me a paper.
MR. VAZQUEZ: No. No.
A. There is a cabinet itself. Underneath
, perhaps my question
period
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the cabinet there are like legs, but it's like
from the same material about this high that is next
to the cabinet and you put that on the floor and
then the baseboards cover that. You cannot see
anything. When you open the cabinet there is like
a floor there that you cannot see that I have to
remove it to be able to see.
Q. When you open the cabinet doors and you
look inside, was there water inside that you could
see?
A. No, there was no water.
Q. What I had said, when you open the
cabinets was there water inside of the cabinet that
you could see?
A. Not that I could see.
Q. Thank you. Mrs.
what I was misunderstanding.
You indicated that the next morning you
woke up and that's when you say the baseboard was
wet and the drywall was wet and it had stains in
the area that you had indicated.
Was there any other damage that you can
describe so far from this water event that you
could see the next morning?
A. No.
, that's
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Q. That next day did you contact any
companies to assist you with trying to determine
what caused the toilet to overflow?
A. That's when I called my attorney.
Q. Just to confirm, is that attorney
present today, Vazquez, or another attorney?
A. That's the same, .
Q. Did you contact any other companies
other than contacting your attorney with regard to
this claim?
A. No, my attorney was in charge of that.
Q. Did any company ever come to your
property to determine what caused the toilet to
overflow?
A. Yes, that was between my attorney and
them.
Q. Were you home when somebody came to
your property?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know if a plumber came to your
property?
A. Yes, yes, that was their problem.
Q. Mrs. , you indicated that
that was their problem. Who are you referring to
when you say that was their problem, who are they?
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A. That was between my attorney and the
person that he looked for.
Q. You were home when people came to your
property, so part of Tower Hill's adjust of your
claim was to determine what was done to repair your
property and that's what we are asking about now.
So other than a plumber coming to your
property did anybody else come to your property?
A. I repeat again, yes, they came but it
was between my attorney and them.
Q. I understand your attorney sent them,
but what I am asking is since you were present who
came?
A. Some men.
Q. Did those men bring any equipment with
them to your house?
A. Yes, they brought those vents.
Q. How many vents did they bring?
A. I don't remember if it was four or
five.
Q. How many men came to your property?
A. Wow, I don't remember.
Q. Did anybody come to your property the
day after your toilet overflowed?
A. Yes, those people with the vents.
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Q. They came the next day?
A. Yes.
Q. Mrs.
recall the date when we first asked you the exact
date. It was reported as occurring on April 24th
of 2014. Does that help you to remember when the
loss occurred?
A. I know it was in April but I don't
remember the exact date.
Q. You said that men came the next day.
Did anybody come two days after the loss?
A. Yes, there were some people that came
from Tower Hill and all that, they came to the
house.
Q. People from Tower Hill came to the
house two days after the loss occurred?
A. I don't remember if it was two or
three, I don't remember.
Q. Mrs.
reported to Tower Hill two or three days after it
occurred, so is there someone else that could have
come to your property?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Did anybody other the men that came
with the machines, you said that they came the day
, I know you didn't
, this claim was not
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after the loss occurred, did they come the
following day also?
A. I don't remember. They came to remove
them but I don't remember if it was after three
days or four, I don't remember?
Q. Did they come at any time between when
they first installed them and when they came to
pick them up?
A. I don't know, I don't think so. I
don't know, I don't remember.
Q. Other than bringing machines did the
men bring anything else inside the property?
A. They removed the wet baseboards, that's
it.
Q. Which wet baseboards did they remove?
A. From the living room and from the
hallway. And the one from the closet that has the
air-conditioning.
Q. Did the men do anything other than
remove the wet baseboards and bring the machines?
A. Somebody came, I don't know if he was
sent by them or by whom, the ones that actually
fixed the problem with the toilet. Not the toilet,
but the pipe.
MR. VAZQUEZ: She said unclogged.
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A. Somebody who came to unclog the
toilets, actually the pipes.
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) When did that person
come, did he come the next day?
A. Yes, he came at the same time that the
men came with the vents. I think that he came
after because it was between them and I really
didn't have anything to do with that person.
Q. When you say them, are you saying the
same day or sometime after that?
A. The same day but I think hours later.
Q. Are you positive that all of those
people came on the same day?
A. For sure one hundred percent sure no, I
know that they came.
Q. Mrs.
recorded statement taken as it pertained to this
claim over the telephone?
A. You mean the insurance? Yes.
Q. Do you recall that in the recorded
statement you indicated water coming from the
bathroom but you didn't know where in the bathroom
it was coming from?
A. That I said that I didn't know from
which part of the bathroom?
, do you recall having a
Note: Percents should always be written in digits according to Morson's Rule 199 & BGGP Number.28 unless it's at the beginning of the sentence. Also note: Some reporters do not consider "a hundred" the same as "one hundred."
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Q. Yes.
A. Well, if I said it I guess I didn't
remember at that moment but I said that it was
coming out of the toilet.
Q. Thank you for clarifying.
Did the men that came to the property,
are those the people that cut the holes? You
indicated that there were holes cut. Were those
the men that came to the property that cut the
holes?
A. Correct.
Q. Did you pay those men anything?
A. No.
Q. Did you enter into any contract with
those men?
A. That I remember, no.
Q. You indicated that someone came and
unclogged the problem in the plumbing?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you home when that was done?
A. I was there but I left because they
were working outside.
Q. When you say left, did you leave the
house completely or you were just in a different
room?
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A. No, I had to go out, I had to leave the
house.
Q. You left the actual property that day
while they did their work?
A. Yes, I had to run an errand that I had
to do and I left them working there outside.
Q. Was your husband there that day?
A. No.
Q. To confirm, I believe that you said you
left them there outside. Were they doing work
outside of your house?
A. Correct.
Q. What was the work that they did outside
of your house?
A. They were using the snake.
Q. They were using the snake outside of
the house?
A. Correct?
Q. Was that put into any of the plumbing
lines?
A. I don't know, they put it through the
roof and I assume that it's through the plumbing, I
don't know.
Q. Do you know if they put a camera inside
with that snake?
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A. No, I don't know what they did. I told
you that I had to do an errand so I don't know what
they did.
Q. Mrs.
was produced by your attorney that I just separated
out of the documents from Recovery 911 Restoration
which we are going to mark as 6. Composite Exhibit
6.
(Thereupon, the 911 Recovery
Restoration Document was marked as
Defendant's Exhibit No. 6 for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Mrs. ,
enclosed with this was a work order agreement to
perform services and/or repair and direct pay
authorization, and this dated April 26th of 2014.
A. You mean direct pay to me?
Q. That's the name of the document, direct
pay authorization. This is Recovery Restoration's
911 document, it states that it was signed on April
26th of 2014. Mrs.
you don't recall the date of loss, it was reported
as April 24th of 2014.
Do you have any reason to dispute that
it occurred on April 24th of 2014?
, I have a copy of what
, you indicated that
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A. No. I just don't remember the date.
Q. Is your signature anywhere on this work
order agreement as part of Composite Exhibit 6?
A. Yes.
Q. Where is it located?
A. Here (Indicating).
Q. At the bottom?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you know where you were when you
signed this page?
A. Me? Was that the day of the damage?
Q. That's the date that this contract was
signed.
A. I must have been at home.
Q. Was this the company, Recovery 911
Restoration, is that the one that sent the men with
the vents?
A. Is that the people that put the vents?
Q. That's the question?
A. I don't know if they were.
Q. Do you know what that contract is?
A. It doesn't say the name of the person?
Q. The Recovery 911 Restoration. That's
the contract that was signed by you and I am asking
you if that's the company that came to your house.
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A. It must be the company that my attorney
contacted.
Q. Do you know what it is that you signed,
did anyone explain that contract to you?
A. Tell me what it's about and see if I
can remember.
Q. I am asking you to tell me if you
remember what it's about, and if you don't remember
you can say that you don't remember.
A. If you tell me then I will tell you if
I remember or not.
Q. Mrs.
assignment of insurance benefits included in
Composite Exhibit 6. It indicates that it was
dated April 26th of 2013. Is your signature on
this page?
A. What did you say at the beginning, that
it was an insurance?
Q. It says assignment of insurance
benefits. I am reading what was provided to us.
Is your signature on that page as well?
A. That is correct.
Q. Where states April 26th of 2013, did
you write that?
A. 13?
, there is also an
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Q. I am just reading what it says?
A. No, that happened on the 2014.
Q. That was just a mistake; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. And it should be 2014; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Mrs.
insurance benefits that we are looking at shows a
date of loss of April 26th of 2014, but the date of
loss was reported to Tower Hill as occurring on
April 24th of 2014 two days before?
Do you know why the contract indicates
the loss of April 26th, not as April 24th which is
the date that it is reported to have occurred?
A. I suppose, I don't know that that was
the date that they went to my house because I don't
know.
Q. Mrs.
company didn't come to your house the same day that
the loss occurred; correct?
A. The next day. The people with the
vents ---
Q. That's my question, the Recovery 911
Restoration is the company that we have in these
contracts.
, the assignment of
, to confirm this
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No company came to your house the date
that you first saw the water that the loss
occurred; correct?
A. No because that happened at night and
we finished trying to dry it around midnight. I
will repeat it again, the next day I called my
attorney.
Q. Mrs.
asking that is because the date of loss on these
contracts is the same day that these contracts were
signed. So clarification is needed as to why they
are dated the same day that the loss occurred.
MR. VAZQUEZ: If you don't know or you
don't remember --
MRS. SAMPLE: I have told her that if
she doesn't know or she doesn't remember, you can
tell me. Mrs. Sample, this is not a deposition.
I am going to request that you speak in
English and go through the interpreter so we have
an accurate record.
Just now you spoke in Spanish.
MR. VAZQUEZ: The interpreter didn't
interpret what I said in English.
MRS. SAMPLE: Can you repeat what you
said in English.
, the reason that I am
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MR. VAZQUEZ: I already said it in
English but the interpreter didn't interpret it.
Please proceed.
MRS. SAMPLE: Please explain what you
just said in Spanish. For my purpose of
understanding, can you tell me what you just said
to your client in Spanish.
MR. VAZQUEZ: I said it on the record.
MRS. SAMPLE: What is it that you are
referring to?
MR. VAZQUEZ: When I instructed the
client to say if she does not remember or does not
recall or does not know simply say that, that's
all.
MRS. SAMPLE: That's all that I am
asking.
A. If they put another date to the claim
it's because they went on another day, I assume.
Q. Mrs.
document that is a daily humidity record and it's
dated 4/26 of 2014 and it also has notations from
4/28 of 2014 and 4/29 of 2014.
Do you know if this company came to
your property on each of these three days?
A. I don't remember.
, also produced was a
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Q. Mrs.
invoice from the Plumbing Professionals which is
5B, an invoice submitted to Tower Hill indicating
the Plumbing Professional's job number 5381, and it
indicates $450 diagnostic fee for .
And Mrs.
this $450 diagnostic fee, if that pertains to the
company that you said cleared the clog from your
pipe?
A. I don't know.
(Thereupon, the Invoice from Plumbing
Professionals was marked as Defendant's
Exhibit No. 5B for Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Do you know if that
company ever came to your house?
A. A company came but I don't know the
name.
Q. Before today had you ever seen this
document which is 5B?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you provided a copy of this
document when the men came out to your house?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
which were photographs submitted by your counsel on
, also submitted was an
, do you know if
, we marked Exhibit 5A
s'
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behalf of your claim.
Have you ever seen these photographs
before today? Take your time and look at them.
Have you ever seen those photographs
before?
A. I know when they took them but I didn't
see them.
Q. So those photographs do depict your
property; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. You said that you know when they took
them. Who took those photographs?
A. The same people that came with the
vents.
Q. Do any of those photographs show the
baseboards in your property before they were
removed by that company?
A. I saw some baseboards but they have
nothing to do with the floor because it was so dark
perhaps I passed them and I didn't see them.
Q. Let me see if I may have a clear copy.
We'll mark this as Composite Exhibit 7.
This is a letter from attorney
Vazquez to Tower Hill dated May 15th of 2014
enclosing the 911 Recovery Restoration docs that
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were discussed and another copy of the black and
white photos that you just went through and I
believe these to be clearer.
Mrs.
photographs show the baseboard? You indicated that
the wall was stained at the baseboards were
saturated and damaged. Do any of those show the
baseboards in place before the company removed
them?
A. In reality I don't know what this is.
(Thereupon, the Letters and Photographs
were marked as Defendant's Exhibit No. 7 for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) And you can just
continue to look if you are able to tell from the
photos if any of them are the baseboards?
A. They look like baseboards, but I cannot
assure you that.
Q. Mrs.
were removed before Tower Hill went to the
property, I'd like to see if you have any photos or
documents that show the condition of them before
they were damaged.
A. I don't know if these are the
baseboards or not. That looks like the base boards
, do any of those
, because the baseboards
hyphenate
and
one word
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or molding but I don't know if they were.
Q. Just for purpose of the record, I am
going to put 7A on the photograph that you are
talking about so that I know.
Do you know what room of the property
room 7A, are you able to tell?
A. It looks like a baseboard but I cannot
assure you.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 7A for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) You are not able to
tell what room that's is; correct?
A. It could be the living room, I don't
know.
Q. Mrs.
same photograph, are you able to see what you
described as the damage from this event?
A. What happens is I am not an expert on
this matter, I don't know.
Q. You indicated that you were visibly
able to see damage so I am asking if what you saw
as damage is depicted on this photograph and you
can show me? What you indicated that you visibly
saw.
, in regards to that
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A. These looks like a baseboard and it
looks like it's wet but I don't know what it is.
Q. You indicated it looks like it's wet.
Is it at the top portion of the picture
where I am doing a squiggly line, is that the area
with arrows, is that the area that you are
indicating that looks like it's wet?
A. The wall that was wet was when we
removed the baseboard that the whole wall was wet.
Q. You indicated that the baseboards
themselves became saturated, were you able to see
any stains on the baseboards?
A. No, they were completely wet.
Q. Correct, but did they have any stains,
how did you know that they were wet just looking at
them?
A. Because they were removed and then they
were touched.
Q. How did you know that they needed to be
removed if you couldn't see any damage to them?
A. Yes, they looked wet, all of them.
Q. Because they looked wet?
A. They didn't look wet they were wet.
Q. You can physically touch them and know
that they were wet?
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A. Yes.
Q. Do any of these photographs show the
damage that you are claiming resulted from the
loss, whether it's the baseboards or you indicated
the drywall had staining. Do any of the photos
show the stains on the drywall?
A. In here you can see that there is a
stain there but I cannot assure you to where it
belongs because I cannot know that.
Q. I will mark this as photo 7B. I am
going to circle the area that you just referred to
with your finger as being where the stain was.
Is this the area where you indicated is
where the stain is?
A. If that's the family room area, yes.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 7B for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) I am talking about
this photo itself. You indicated by pointing to it
and I need to clarify for the record what you are
pointing at.
A. Yes, it's there.
Q. So this is the area where the stain is?
A. Here in that area (indicating).
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Q. And in this area I am going to put a
square where you are putting your finger, that area
as well?
A. Correct.
Q. Is this the floor Mrs.
this the wall?
A. I don't know if this is the floor, I
don't know.
Q. Was the floor damaged by the loss?
A. I cannot lie.
Q. I don't want you to lie, that's why if
you don't know you don't know.
Was the floor damaged?
A. You can see that this stained, that
it's damaged.
Q. We'll mark this is as 7C.
Is the photo 7C that you indicated is
stained, correct?
A. Yes.
(Thereupon, the Photograph was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 7C for
Identification.)
A. Looking at it from here to here the
baseboard was up until here and all of this was
stained?
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Q. (By Mrs. Sample) I am going put an X up
to where you indicated that the baseboard was and
an arrow as to where you indicated that the stain
was?
A. So from here to here there was the
baseboard so you can see there there is a stain.
Q. The baseboard was in place before the
water event occurred; correct?
A. Correct?
Q. When the men removed the baseboards
what did they do with it?
A. They took it with them.
Q. Did they throw it out that day or did
they take it with them away from the property?
A. Yes, they took it away. These are the
baseboards from the kitchen.
Q. We can mark this as 7D.
Mrs.
they left the property with them they didn't throw
them out at your property; is that correct?
A. They put it in the car and took it with
them. Yes, I have a baby in the house because I
take care of my grandson and of course they cannot
leave that in the house so they took it with them.
Q. Did they ever return the baseboards to
, I want to clarify the baseboards
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you?
A. What did I wants those wet things for?
Q. So Mrs.
what the question is, did they ever return them to
you?
A. No.
Q. Before the reported date of loss of
April 24th of 2014, before that date, did you ever
have any issues with the toilets being slow to
drain in your house?
A. No.
Q. Did you ever have the kitchen sink slow
to drain before?
A. Well, many years ago.
Q. When was that?
A. I don't remember, four.
Q. What happened at that time?
A. It started leaking and immediately we
fixed the problem.
Q. What was leaking?
A. The water.
Q. Where?
A. In the sink.
Q. Was it leaking into the cabinet
underneath the sink?
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A. Yes, I put a container there to hold
the water and they fixed it.
Q. Did that leak damage the inside of the
cabinet when you opened the cabinet net and you can
could see down?
A. No.
Q. What did they do to fix it?
A. They replaced it.
Q. Who is they?
A. That's the maintenance guy that does
any repairs when I need something.
Q. Was it a plumber or repairman?
A. A plumber.
Q. But that's not the same plumber that
came to your house regarding this claim; correct?
A. No.
Q. After plumber fixed the problem years
ago did you have any leaks after that in the sink?
A. No.
Q. With regard to the bathroom shower and
bathtubs prior to the reported date of loss April
24th of 2014, were those ever slow to drain?
A. No.
Q. You indicated that you saw the plumbing
invoice before today but it wasn't given to you on
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the date that they came to your property.
Were you ever given a video from the
plumbing company that came to your house and
snaked?
A. No.
Q. Since the claim loss occurred have you
made any repairs to the property?
A. No.
Q. And part of Exhibit 3 there was an
estimate prepared by Florida Statewide Claim
Consultants Corp. Will mark that as Exhibit 3L.
Mrs.
this estimate before today?
A. I don't remember.
(Thereupon, the Estimate from Florida
Statewide Claim Consultants was marked
as Defendant's Exhibit No. 3L for
Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Do you know if you
have entered into a contract with the company
called Florida Statewide Claim Consultants that
prepared that estimate?
A. Is that the same company?
Q. I am not sure which one you are
referring to.
, have you ever seen
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A. To the company that brought the vents?
Q. You have indicated a company came and
brought vents. You recognized your signature from
a document called 911 Restoration and this is a
company called Florida Statewide Claim Consultants
Corporation.
Have you ever signed a contract with
Florida Statewide Claim Consultants?
A. I don't remember because that person
came through my attorney.
Q. Did anybody from that company ever
visit your property when you were home?
A. I don't remember, perhaps they went but
the name of the company I don't remember.
Q. Mrs.
the June 24th 2014 correspondence sent from your
attorney, Vazquez, enclosing what's called a
sworn statement and proof of loss on June 22nd of
2014.
Mrs.
that document, a sworn statement and proof of loss?
A. Yes.
(Thereupon, the Sworn Statement and
Proof of Loss was marked as Defendant's
Exhibit No. 8 for Identification.)
, have you ever seen
, Exhibit 8 is a copy of
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Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Is your signature on
that page?
A. Yes.
Q. Were the amounts filled in at the time
that you signed that page?
A. Yes.
Q. This indicates that the amount claimed
is $30,836.48 less the deductible. Is that the
amount that you are claiming Tower Hill should pay
you for your claimed loss to put in pre loss
condition?
A. Correct.
Q. Do you know what number a based on?
A. That is a problem of my attorney with
the representative.
Q. Right. But Mrs.
was, do you know what that number, the 30,000 where
that came from?
A. From the estimate they did from my
losses.
Q. Are you relying on that amount for the
amount you are seeking for your claim?
A. Can you tell me again.
Q. Are you relying on that amount,
$30,836.48 less the deductible, are you relying on
, my question
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that amount as the amount that you are seeking in
this claim?
A. Well yes.
Q. And Mrs.
was prepared by Florida Statewide Claim Consultant
Corp, Exhibit 3L totals 30,836.48, which is the
same amount that's on your proof of loss.
Is this the estimate that you were
referring to just now when you said that the amount
on the proof of loss came from the estimate that
they did for you?
A. It must be.
Q. But you don't know for sure?
A. Yes.
Q. Yes, it is?
A. Yes.
Q. Mrs.
summary for contents. Were any of the contents in
your house damaged from the water loss? Personal
property contents not fixtures. Was any of the
furniture damaged due to the water loss?
A. No.
Q. Was any of your ---
A. Well the cabinets.
Q. Other than the cabinets. What I mean
, the estimate that
, this estimate includes
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by furniture is tables, chairs, the sofa?
A. No.
Q. So you are not claiming any damages to
contents of that sort; correct?
A. No.
Q. No that's not correct?
A. No, I am not claiming them.
Q. This estimate includes repairs to the
dining room, including the baseboard, replacing and
painting. But previously testified there was no
damage in the dining room, there was no water in
the dining room?
A. No.
Q. When you say no, can you clarify what
you are saying no to?
A. No, in the dining room per se there was
no damage, I don't know if they are referring to
the part of the kitchen where the tall chairs are
that that belongs to the dining room and on the
other side is the kitchen.
Q. Mrs.
the water didn't go where those tall chairs were;
correct?
A. No, it didn't come there, but they are
the other baseboards that are the same, I don't
, you had indicated that
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know.
Q. Do the baseboards run from the kitchen
into the dining room continuously?
A. Yes, where the high chairs are.
Q. The same baseboard from the kitchen
runs there; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Mrs. , at the beginning when
you were describing to me what you initially did
with closing both valves and drying up the water
and using the plunger in the toilet, you indicated
that when you used the plunger in the toilet there
was a backup in the tub in that bathroom, but also
in your bathroom and I haven't asked you about
that.
What did you mean by in your bathroom
as well?
A. In the shower the dark water came out.
I suppose it went back there.
Q. When did you first notice that there
was a dark water in the master bathroom shower?
A. Since we were trying to solve the
problem we were checking all of the bathrooms.
Q. Was that already after you had dried up
the water at the end of the night or when you first
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saw the water?
A. No, first we dried the water and then
we started seeing if we can unclog the bathroom?
Q. At that time when you unclogged it is
when you saw water coming to the master bathroom
shower; correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Did that water ever go over the edge of
the shower into the actual bathroom?
A. No, it never came out.
Q. So there is no damage to the master
bathroom; correct?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
company that came out to your property to do work?
A. Because I have not solved my problem
yet.
Q. Did they ask you for payment at that
time that they did the work?
A. Not at the moment.
Q. Since then have they asked you for
payment?
A. No.
Q. Do you know whether or not this company
has been paid, whether 911 Restoration has been
, why didn't you pay the
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paid for any of the work that they have done at
your house?
A. I don't know nothing.
Q. Mrs.
my notes real quick and through the documents that
you brought and see if I have anymore questions for
you or if we'll be done. So we can take a break.
(Recess in Proceedings)
BY MRS. SAMPLE:
Q. Mrs.
invoice provided, we already looked at it today, it
was job number 5381.
And a separate plumbing invoice was
provided to Tower Hill which we'll mark as Exhibit
Number 9. This indicated billed 5/16 and 8/18 of
'14 and that was not on the other invoice.
Just to confirm, those are not your
handwritten notes; correct?
A. No.
(Thereupon, the Plumbing Professional
invoice was marked as Defendant's Exhibit
No. 9 for Identification.)
Q. (By Mrs. Sample) Did you ever see an
invoice that had that writing on it?
A. No. Does my signature appear?
, I want to go through
, there was a plumbing
two words
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Q. I am asking if you ever saw a copy of
this invoice that had these handwritten notes on
it?
A. No.
Q. Mrs. , since the work was
done by the men that came out with the vents and
the plumber at your property, have you had any
backups in the drains in your property?
A. No.
Q. Have you had any leaks at the property
since then?
A. No.
Q. Have you had any overflows of any of
the toilets since or bathtubs since then?
A. No.
Q. Have you closed the caps on the
outside? You indicated you had opened the caps on
the pipes to let the water out. Have you closed
them since then?
A. Yes.
Q. On the date that you discovered the
toilet overflowing in the bathroom at the property,
at the time when the toilet was overflowing, was
your dishwasher running at that time?
A. No.
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Q. Was your washing machine running at
that time?
A. No.
Q. I know that you have two refrigerators,
but just to confirm, I don't know if you have two
washers or driers. Was any appliances other than
the refrigerator running at that time?
A. No.
Q. Do you know how the water got from the
hallway into the kitchen?
A. Excuse me?
Q. Do you know how the water got from the
hallway along the living room through that wall you
told me, do you know how it got from that area into
the kitchen?
A. Not from the bathroom.
Q. My question is, you indicated that the
water spread down along the wall where the living
room is located.
Do you know how the water ultimately
ended up in the kitchen?
A. I told you from the beginning that the
wall that is in the kitchen is the same wall that's
in the bathroom, and the wall in the living room is
the one for the living room and also the one that
dryers
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has the refrigerator.
Q. My question is, do you know how the
water got from those areas into the kitchen?
A. Just spreading.
Q. Did it spread down the hall all the way
down the tile or underneath the wall?
A. Actually, the walls inside of the house
are not concrete, I suppose the water spread. When
I got there the water was there.
Q. Are you not sure how the water got into
the kitchen?
A. Well no, I guess it was just spread
from there to the other side.
Q. Do you own any other properties?
A. No.
Q. Does anybody besides you or your
husband own the subject property?
A. No.
Q. Mrs.
questions that I have for you today. I am going to
follow up with your attorney regarding the request
for information number 20 that we had asked for
previously and ask that those documents be
provided. Hopefully I don't have any questions
regarding those documents and if I do I will
, those are all of the
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contact your attorney to determine whether we have
to talk with you again.
Thank you for your time.
MR. VAZQUEZ: Waive.
(The deposition was concluded at 2:50 p.m.)
CERTIFICATE OF OATH
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF DADE
I, , Florida
Professional Reporter, Notary Public, State of
Florida, certify that personally
appeared before me on the 22nd day of October, 2014
and was duly sworn.
Signed this ^ day of November, 2014
Note: In most states, witnesses have the right to read their transcript and then sign off that everything is correct or they can waive that right. The attorney here is stating on the record that they are waiving that right.
not a deposition
these each need to be on their own page
interpreter needs to be included
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_____________________________________
Notary Public, State of FloridaCommission No: Commission Expires: November 29, 2014
CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF DADE
I, , Florida
Professional Reporter, certify that I was
authorized to and did stenographically report the
Examination under oath of , pages
1 through ^ ; that a review of the transcript was
not requested; and that the transcript is a true
record of my stenographic notes.
I further certify that I am not a relative,
employee, attorney, or counsel of any of the
parties, nor am I a relative or employee of any of
the parties' attorneys or counsel connected with
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the action, nor am I financially interested in the
action.
Dated this ^ day of ^ , 2014.
_______________________________
Florida Professional Reporter
