Community Leaders, Management, Staff and Owners Must Act Now to Protect Their Investments, Livelihoods and Homes.
Gulf Coast communities have dealt with a lot of casualties over the years. Many owners were displaced for years after Hurricane Opal. Opal's 20 foot storm surges destroyed buildings and businesses. While special assessments mounted to cover mitigation, repair and other costs, property owners & businesses that cater to community association management/vacation rentals lost their source of revenue - a double whammy.
Oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico. This disaster is as potentially damaging to the Gulf Coast communities as any hurricane or tornado. News reports indicate an oil slick the size of Delaware hovers offshore and is likely to make landfall in significant amounts. Gulf shore residents can expect tar on the beach, an ocean sheen, fish and birds washing up onto shore and more. Needless to say, tourists are already canceling their plans to visit the Gulf Coast and business are showing signs of distress. While there are still a lot of unknowns, the effect of this spill on the environment and the economy on the northern Gulf Coast is certain to be devastating.
Community leaders, managers, staff members & owners all have a role in minimizing losses. Please, protect yourselves and your investments. Implement your disaster plan and document all losses, including cancellations of vacation plans, beach clean up, damages to personal property and the like.
As with any catastrophic loss, Gulf Coast owners and residents can expect a mass influx of outsiders looking to benefit from this unfortunate event. Contractors, public adjusters and yes, even attorneys, are likely to swoop down on the region. BP created a claims process - anyone believe that the oil company is looking out for your best interests?
Becker & Poliakoff Attorneys have represented community associations in the Gulf Coast/Panhandle area for more than twenty (20) years. Helping clients recover from casualty losses is one of our services. Attorneys Ray Newman, John Cottle, Angela Chao Clark and John Townsend are already in the process of advising clients how to minimize their losses and prepare for the legal issues they will need to confront in the coming days, weeks, months - perhaps years.
John Cottle explained to Tallahassee Democrat publication that obtaining the remedies available under the federal Pollution Act of 1990, requires evidence of losses. Board Certified Construction Attorney Sanjay Kurian (a contributor to this blog) indicated that insurance claims are not easy or simple matters in an article published by the News Press. His experience comes from helping community associations recover insurance proceeds from Hurricanes Charley, Jeanne, Francis & Katrina (among other cases).
Becker & Poliakoff has maintained a fully staffed office in Panhandle area since 1998, representing hundreds of community associations with respect to board/association operations, interpreting and enforcing covenants and restrictions, regulatory compliance issues, disaster recovery, insurance claims, construction disputes and more.
For more information on what you can do now to prepare, minimize your losses and ultimately recover for your damages, please visit www.hurricane-recovery.com. We wish for the best for the Gulf Coast, surrounding areas and all of Florida.
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BP announced that it has accepted responsibility under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and created a claims process for obtaining compensation for losses. Even though oil has yet to hit Florida's beaches, condominium and other property owners have both lost income and incurred expenses as a result of the oil spill. 