Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

Many citizens of Louisiana often face difficult circumstances with their neighbors. Not just the noise or random annoyances but, instead, sheds, plants, trees or other property going across the lot and into their own property.

While a shed that is 2" too wide is often ignored by the average person, there are very real consequences of allowing this to go on.

Common law dictates that an infringing structure or item, left unchecked, can create new property rights that take away from the individual who has calmly allowed what may be a harmless mistake. Encroachment of a shed or addition to a house can expand the property of the owner of said structure to the detriment of an unassuming neighbor.

According to the ExpertLaw.com

To prove adverse possession under a typical definition, the person claiming ownership through adverse possession must show that its possession is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, under cover of claim or right, and continuous and uninterrupted for the statutory period. These terms have special legal meanings as legal "terms of art", meaning that their definition for purposes of adverse possession law may be different from a definition you would find in a standard dictionary.

What this means is that a landowner who allows for years a structure or other imposing item to come into their property faces the reality of losing ownership of that portion of their land should they be taken to or prosecute the matter. The law awards rights to people who for years have been allowed rights to the land in what many consider to be unfair and a penalty for politeness.

Louisiana law calls this process acquisitive prescription. The process comes from French law, as many of the codes and principles of Louisiana law derives, and is defined clearly in the Civil Code. Per that Code Article (3446), "acquisitive prescription is a mode of acquiring ownership or other real rights by possession for a period of time." Further, the law is relatively flexible on the limits that a claim may arise. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3447, "liberative prescription is a mode of barring of actions as a result of inaction for a period of time." This means that claims must arise within a certain time period. However, the law has stipulated that renewal of the time when the party who has benefited from the extended time period admits knowing of the infringement.

While a court might determine this in different ways, the fact that such a taking of property exists means Louisiana citizens must be careful with just how neighborly they are.

To give a general example:
If you own a vacant lot next to a person who has a garage that abuts your lot, and you are unaware the garage is two feet over your lot, that person could end up getting that two feet of property after 30 yrs of notorious open possession. While this might not seem like a lot, when you choose to sell the lot, it could have serious ramifications. The same thing goes for a shed in the back of your lot that you figured was not a big deal but ends up lowering your potential sale by an amount that would never be worth the kindness you showed by doing nothing.

If you find that a neighbor is encroaching on your property with a shed, their home or a variety of other ways, it is important to handle the matter swiftly and not allow time to pass. Doing so can severely limit your legal rights and punish you for what may have been considered to be an honest mistake you were choosing to ignore.

For more information on your legal rights, feel free to contact our firm for a free consultation from one of our attorneys.

While the Gulf Coast rarely sees snow in the winter months, safe driving is crucial as precipitation arrives in the form of rain and sleet. Though these tips are offered by the Iowa Department of Transportation, they still remain absolutely relevant given the ability of cold weather to cause unsafe driving conditions despite a lack of snow or hail.

Do not overestimate your ability in bad driving conditions.

Slow down. Wear seat belts. Never drink and drive.

Put extra distance between you and the car in front of you.

Don't slam on the brakes. The wheels could lock, causing your car to slide.

If your car starts to slide, turn your wheels in the direction in which it is sliding to straighten it out.

Drive on interstates and one-way roads, whenever possible.

Turn on your lights to see and be seen.

Clear snow, sleet and ice off the headlights, tail lights, mirrors, and license plates. Stop the car when necessary to keep the windows clear.

Be aware that bridges, ramps, and overpasses may freeze first.

Check the windshield wipers to make sure they are not frozen to the windshield.

Consider replacing your original wipers with heavy-duty ones.

As always, safe driving in adverse conditions is much more important than arriving to a destination faster. Should you be involved in a car accident, keep close records of all the details and contacting a legal expert are crucial. Our office deals in personal injury and legal representation matters and would gladly discuss your rights in the event of such an accident.

In the meantime, our offices only hope that ice and sleet will not be an issue this holiday season in the Gulf Coast!

A quick news piece emerging out of Houston demonstrates that though it has been a quiet hurricane season, the damage caused by previous years in which the Gulf Coast was not so lucky have still not been overcome. In Houston, individuals still living in FEMA trailers in the wake of Hurricane Ike have been notified that they will need to vacate and move on to more permanent housing.

Per Houston's Daily News

Before Hurricane Ike, Sidney Lampman rented the first floor of her sister’s two-story house on West Hunter Drive in Old Bayou Vista. The hurricane flooded the house and, even though Lampman rented the property, rather than owned it, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave her a mobile home while she looked for a new place to live.

This month, the agency sent Lampman a letter telling her she must move out of the mobile home because there are plenty of apartments and rental houses in the area.

The agency referred her to the federal Disaster Housing Assistance Program, which subsidizes rent for hurricane victims through March.

It is disappointing to see people are still having to rely on this governmental housing and shows the true destruction caused by these disasters. We can only hope this quiet hurricane season continues and the Gulf Coast is given a reprieve from disastrous weather.

A nice quick read for those in New Orleans and abroad, the Toronto Star recently did a profile describing the recovery movement post-Katrina and what it means four years later. While common in its timeline of the days before and after Katrina, it does spotlight a lingering international interest in the disaster and shows, again, just how much help is still needed even after all that time.

John Goddard recounts

Some visitors seek out the city's cemetery tombs. Some ride to nearby plantations and delta swamps. For many, however, the first choice is to survey Katrina's devastation – not to gawk at other people's misfortune but to understand what the city endured and appreciate its protracted recovery.

Jones sets the ground rules: The bus sticks to main thoroughfares; nobody gets off to take pictures.

Initially, locals resented the idea of bus tours, he says. Now they view them as a net benefit to the city.

"Just by coming here you are helping," he says.

From all of us at the Berniard Law Firm, have a pleasant weekend.

While much of the nation has been spared any sort of adverse weather as a result of tropical storms or hurricanes, insuring one's home is not the only way precaution may be taken by people, regardless on where they live. One helpful tip is to avoid any sort of delay or detriment to travel enjoyment by insuring your trip or vacation.

Article writer Michelle Higgins recounts various trips she has taken and the security insurance now provides. She writes

Several years passed before we returned to the Caribbean in hurricane season. In October 2007, my husband and I rented a house on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico. The three-bedroom home was perched on a hilltop, and its pool offered clear views of the bioluminescent bay and remote beaches. The October rate was a bargain, and other than a few afternoon showers, we escaped any foul weather.

This year, we decided to press our luck again. Why? Because we were getting hurricane insurance.

Basic travel insurance typically covers hurricanes or other unexpected weather events. This can offer peace of mind to travelers going to a storm-prone region. If a hurricane shuts down the airport or wipes out the hotel, for example, you don’t lose the money you spent on the vacation.

But some companies have started going a step further, offering more specific storm-related benefits like hurricane-warning protection. With this type of insurance, travelers don’t have to wait until a hurricane ruins their vacation to get their money back. Rather, hurricane-warning coverage generally allows cancellation of a trip within 24 hours of departure if the destination is under an official hurricane warning from the National Hurricane Center.

The article goes on but the general idea is that a variety of situation-specific provisions exist. By researching before your trip and looking into anything a travel agent or the company you are buying through, or in the event it is a trip just researching the internet or your rental car company, valuable time and money can be preserved. Some companies might let you go on the trip again while others may simply reimburse a portion of your trip. Either way, being an educated traveler can be quite helpful when hurricanes sweep through, if they do. And if they don't, at least knowing you're protected can make travelers less wary about the weather day to day.

A happy Labor Day for everyone in the Gulf Coast and beyond!

A little bit of 'News in Short'

Miami Herald: more tax benefits for Chinese drywall victims

Scientific tests have shown that toxic China-made drywall installed in homes beginning in 2001 emits harmful gases that corrode copper wiring and other parts of people's homes. In addition, these gases harm people's health, making many homes uninhabitable. Homeowners must not be left to shoulder this burden alone...

Although the casualty loss deduction allows victims to deduct the home's loss of market value from their taxes, the current tax code does not allow them to deduct for the additional living expenses incurred when homeowners must move and live elsewhere to escape toxic drywall emissions.

Levee plans in doubt

Frustration and less-than-kind words were expressed at two state coastal restoration and protection meetings recently because of a letter sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that raised questions about construction-related permits for at least two portions of a long-awaited, massive levee system in Terrebonne Parish.

The letter, dated Aug. 13 and signed by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, outlined concerns the environmental groups have voiced for several years about the entire Morganza to the Gulf project, which would cover lower parts of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that companies in the Gulf and outside of it are not seeking insurance for catastrophe this hurricane season. Citing "improved technology and increased regulations" as rationale for avoiding the provisions, these companies still stand at some peril as hurricane season escalates. The article notes

Many energy companies are facing the late-blooming Gulf Coast hurricane season without insurance against storm damage to their offshore platforms, pipelines and drilling rigs.

Although the annual storm season has been mild so far, the first hurricane, Bill, brewed up in the Atlantic last weekend, and federal forecasters are predicting three to six hurricanes this year, one or two of which will probably qualify as major.

Consumers are less likely than in earlier years to see spiking prices if hurricanes hit, experts said, because big stockpiles of oil, natural gas and gasoline have built up in the U.S. since the recession began.

But for small and midsize energy companies, a storm's impact could be serious, because they would have to pay for repairs out of their own pockets at a time when revenues have been shrinking because of the global slump in oil and natural-gas prices.

This seems to be similar to the gamble that states are taking for reinsurance, as mentioned in the blog here. All the more, very close attention is going to be paid to developing storms as the season rolls on and the gambles states and companies are taking either pay off or blow up in their faces.

Virginia's WSLS recently did a piece on traveling and the use of travelers insurance that is very relevant to anyone across the United States who may be visiting or doing business in regions such as the Gulf Coast. When visiting areas like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi or Texas, travelers may want to consider the slightly extra fees to guarantee their trip is financially supported in the event hurricane season flips on it.

Bradford tells WSLS travelers can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to hundreds of thousands of dollars for trip insurance, but she says it pays for itself if they have to use it.

“If it’s a situation where you’ve paid $4,000 for a trip and it gets cancelled because of a hurricane and you didn’t take out any insurance, you’re in bind,“ said Bradford.

From talking with several travel companies and searching traveling websites online, WSLS found that, depending on the company and your policy, if a storm damages your hotel before your departure, shuts down your airport or even if a hurricane’s predicted path is near the location of your upcoming insured vacation it is possible to get reimbursed.

The piece also mentions reading the fine print and possibly checking the insurer through the Better Business Bureau before handing over any sizable amount of money for protection. As for cruises, the article notes, insurance may be not as viable an option, or even necessary:

If you have to cash in your trip insurance, Bradford says the wait time varies depending on the policy, but says the average turnaround is about 6 weeks.

According to AAA, it’s rare that cruise ships will cancel their plans because of hurricanes.

They say, most of the time, the cruise ships will just change their routes.

Just a good amount of tips for people who may want to travel at the end of this summer.

For updated views of Bill's projected Bath, bookmark this Blog entry.

An article from 2005 while Hurricane Katrina raged through the States remains relevant today.

In today's five tips, we're going to tell you what you need to know about your insurance if your home as been damaged or destroyed in the hurricane.

1. Contact your insurer, stat.
2. Document, document, document.
3. Live with it...for now.
4. Watch out for scammers.
5. Protest your settlement.

Each tip carries with it a brief description of what to do. Take, for instance, CNN's suggestion for "Living with it now"

Make only temporary repairs before the insurance adjustor has a chance to come in and access the damage. Of course you should not compromise your safety. But if you have a leaky roof, just put some pots and pans around instead of having the damage fixed by a professional.

This is a good way to make sure that you are reimbursed for any repair. If you are currently underinsured or you have a sizable unreinbursed property loss estimate, you may be able to deduct this from your taxes.

First, subtract any insurance you anticipate receiving. Then subtract $100. The loss must be further reduced by 10 percent of your adjusted gross income, according to Tom Ochsenschlager of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The balance remaining is what you can deduct from your taxes.

Just some things to keep in mind in case hurricane season doesn't remain as quiet as it has been.

WBRZ News 2 features the story of how a Livingston Parish homeowner with Chinese drywall may receive some help from a builder.

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