I agree with Fred about keeping Johnson v. Davis in mind and I will add that I have had a few of these termite cases.  Typically, the most important resource is the previous pest control company.  That company usually has records of being called out for treatment by the seller (satisfying the J v. D knowledge element) along with recommendations for further abatement (treatment, repairs), recommendations that the seller often failed to follow or disclose to your buyer.

Gene Atwood | Shareholder

Rogers Towers, P.A. | 1301 Riverplace Blvd., Suite 1500 | Jacksonville, Florida 32207

Direct 904.346.5721 | GAtwood@rtlaw.com mailto:GAtwood@rtlaw.com  | www.rtlaw.com http://www.RTlaw.com

Florida Bar Board Certified Construction Attorney

From: clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of fred.dudley@hklaw.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:19 AM
To: Ian@mkpalaw.com; clc-discussion@lists.flabarrpptl.org
Subject: Re: [CLC-Discussion] Termite Damage Expert Needed

Remember Johnson v. Davis (Florida Supreme Court).

Frederick Dudley | Holland & Knight
Board Certified Construction Lawyer
315 South Calhoun Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee FL 32301
Phone 850.425.5668 | Fax 850.224.8832 | Cell 850.294.3471
fred.dudley@hklaw.com mailto:fred.dudley@hklaw.com  | www.hklaw.com http://www.hklaw.com/

Add to address book http://www.hklaw.com/vcard.aspx?user=frdudley  | View professional biography http://www.hklaw.com/id77/biosfrdudley

From: clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Ian Kravitz
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 10:05 AM
To: 'Construction Law Discussion'
Subject: [CLC-Discussion] Termite Damage Expert Needed

We have a client who purchased a residence in Miami-Dade County that is full of termite damage.  Contractors have stated that the prior owners went through great effort to conceal the termite damage, not to mention lying on the seller's disclosure.  We are looking for recommendations for an expert to opine as to the lengths taken by the prior owners to conceal such damage, and whether such damage should have been discovered by the home inspection that noted some small areas of damage.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Ian T. Kravitz, Esquire  view my bio http://www.mkpalaw.com/Attorneys/Ian-T-Kravitz.shtml

Board Certified in Construction Law

AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

MALKA & KRAVITZ, P.A.

1300 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway

Suite 100

Sunrise, FL 33323

Telephone 954-514-0984

Facsimile  954-514-0985

www.YourConstructionLawFirm.com http://www.mkpalaw.com/

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I have done five or six of these cases, one of which involved a multimillion dollar home on the water in Ft. Lauderdale.

My best recommendation is Keith Garofalo, President, Allstar Construction

I believe Mr. Garofalo has seven (7) construction licenses ( Certified General Contractor, Certified Roofing Contractor, Certified Plumbing Contractor, Certified Underground and Utilities, Certified Hazardous Waste, Certified Electrical Contractor, Class V Fire Inspector). He has been in the construction business for 35 years and has built hundreds of residential and commercial projects- everything from 800 sq foot homes to pouring the concrete for the Palm Beach Convention Center.  He is extremely qualified and in addition to his construction work has been working as an expert witness for the last 8 years. He has worked on numerous cases including construction defect and termite cases. Another advantage is that he also all the estimating programs ( Exactimate, Sage Timberline and Exactimate) which are recognized in the industry to quantify damages.

Also remember Kagan v. Eisenstadt, 98 So. 2nd 370 (Fla. 3rd DCA ) . " A latent defect is one which is not readily observable upon a casual observation of the premises.

Highest regards,

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CONFIDENTIALITY: This electronic message transmission contains information from the law firm Rogers, Morris & Ziegler LLP that is considered confidential or privileged.  The information is intended solely for the recipient and use by any other party is not authorized.  If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify me immediately by telephone (954-462-1431).

From: clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Gene Atwood
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 12:15 PM
To: fred.dudley@hklaw.com; Ian@mkpalaw.com; clc-discussion@lists.flabarrpptl.org
Subject: Re: [CLC-Discussion] Termite Damage Expert Needed

I agree with Fred about keeping Johnson v. Davis in mind and I will add that I have had a few of these termite cases.  Typically, the most important resource is the previous pest control company.  That company usually has records of being called out for treatment by the seller (satisfying the J v. D knowledge element) along with recommendations for further abatement (treatment, repairs), recommendations that the seller often failed to follow or disclose to your buyer.

Gene Atwood | Shareholder
[cid:image001.png@01CE40EE.CAE20FD0]
Rogers Towers, P.A. | 1301 Riverplace Blvd., Suite 1500 | Jacksonville, Florida 32207
Direct 904.346.5721 | GAtwood@rtlaw.commailto:GAtwood@rtlaw.com | www.rtlaw.comhttp://www.RTlaw.com
Florida Bar Board Certified Construction Attorney
From: clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.orgmailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of fred.dudley@hklaw.commailto:fred.dudley@hklaw.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 11:19 AM
To: Ian@mkpalaw.commailto:Ian@mkpalaw.com; clc-discussion@lists.flabarrpptl.orgmailto:clc-discussion@lists.flabarrpptl.org
Subject: Re: [CLC-Discussion] Termite Damage Expert Needed

Remember Johnson v. Davis (Florida Supreme Court).

Frederick Dudley | Holland & Knight
Board Certified Construction Lawyer
315 South Calhoun Street, Suite 600 | Tallahassee FL 32301
Phone 850.425.5668 | Fax 850.224.8832 | Cell 850.294.3471
fred.dudley@hklaw.commailto:fred.dudley@hklaw.com | www.hklaw.comhttp://www.hklaw.com/

Add to address bookhttp://www.hklaw.com/vcard.aspx?user=frdudley | View professional biographyhttp://www.hklaw.com/id77/biosfrdudley
From: clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.orgmailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:clc-discussion-bounces@lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Ian Kravitz
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 10:05 AM
To: 'Construction Law Discussion'
Subject: [CLC-Discussion] Termite Damage Expert Needed

We have a client who purchased a residence in Miami-Dade County that is full of termite damage.  Contractors have stated that the prior owners went through great effort to conceal the termite damage, not to mention lying on the seller's disclosure.  We are looking for recommendations for an expert to opine as to the lengths taken by the prior owners to conceal such damage, and whether such damage should have been discovered by the home inspection that noted some small areas of damage.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Ian T. Kravitz, Esquire  view my biohttp://www.mkpalaw.com/Attorneys/Ian-T-Kravitz.shtml
Board Certified in Construction Law
AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
MALKA & KRAVITZ, P.A.
1300 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway
Suite 100
Sunrise, FL 33323
Telephone 954-514-0984
Facsimile  954-514-0985
www.YourConstructionLawFirm.comhttp://www.mkpalaw.com/
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Although this e-mail and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that might negatively affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the sender for any loss or damage arising in any way in the event that such a virus or defect exist.

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NOTE: This e-mail is from a law firm, Holland & Knight LLP ("H&K"), and is intended solely for the use of the individual(s) to whom it is addressed. If you believe you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately, delete the e-mail from your computer and do not copy or disclose it to anyone else. If you are not an existing client of H&K, do not construe anything in this e-mail to make you a client unless it contains a specific statement to that effect and do not disclose anything to H&K in reply that you expect it to hold in confidence. If you properly received this e-mail as a client, co-counsel or retained expert of H&K, you should maintain its contents in confidence in order to preserve the attorney-client or work product privilege that may be available to protect confidentiality.