Community Association clients of the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have questioned why should they be ready for a hurricane season when experts have for the past five years predicted a busy hurricane season which did not materialize.
We believe that this year will be more like the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted for the 2010 hurricane season that there will be 14 to 23 named storms, 3 to 7 of which will be major storms, with winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. Waters in the West Tropical Atlantic are abnormally warm – a factor for storm formation and strength.
Atmospheric conditions are more favorable to storm development and the probability of landfall in the United States, because the El Niño influence over the past few years which impedes storm development and keeps storms away from land is dissipating and instead there will be an influence from La Niña which tends to increase storm development and draw them toward land.
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group recommends that community associations not be complacent and instead be prepared.
Community Association clients often ask the Jay Steven Levine Law Group how to prepare for an active hurricane season and the procedures to be undertaken during and after a hurricane or other natural disaster. Community associations here are condominium, homeowners' and cooperative associations.
Community associations should establish a check list of preparedness, on a host of subjects.
1. Associations should consider obtaining a line of credit to ensure the availability of funds for debris removal and other construction activities in anticipation of insurance proceeds becoming available.
2. Associations should also consider entering into debris removal and other construction contracts ahead of time so that the association is assured that the association will not be faced with price gouging and unavailability of competent vendors after the storm danger has passed. Such contracts should be reviewed by your community association lawyer to be certain they spring into existence, if and when, a storm hits.
3. It is very important that associations contact legal counsel before contracts are signed, as many contractors offer contracts which are unreasonable, incomplete or even unenforceable.
4. Associations should consider establishing a website which will be the point of communication prior to, during and after the storm.
5. Associations should have an emergency contact list for the members of the community association as well as for each of the directors who may evacuate to other locations.
6. The association should store and back up computer records and official records in a secure location outside of the storm danger area.
7. Landscaping should be trimmed, particularly away from the buildings.
8. The Association should assemble a disaster relief team ready to go into action when the hurricane passes – consisting of the manager, contractors, legal counsel, and an engineer or architect.
9. As a storm approaches, the association should take pictures of the conditions of the buildings to better establish that the need for repair was storm related and not improper maintenance - a problem defense when pursuing a claim against an insurance company.
10. Take pictures again and contact the insurance company immediately after the storm danger has passed.
11. The board should consider adopting a resolution authorizing that a number of checks be pre-signed ahead of the emergency to ensure that services could be paid for when needed.
12. As the danger of a storm approaches, outdoor furniture and other personal property should be secured indoors. Pool levels should be lowered.
13. Some community associations in high-rise buildings choose to close hurricane shutters for their owners. The Jay Steven Levine Law Group recommends caution in this area because of the potential liability if the closure is not done correctly or hurricane shutters are damaged during the course of closure.
14. The Jay Steven Levine Law Group provides full services relating to hurricane and casualty matters, including insurance claims, to better assist our clients when these disasters occur.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 2010 Hurricane Season Guide: Condominium Association Insuring Obligations
About the Jay Steven Levine Law Group
The Jay Steven Levine Law Group specializes in Florida community association law and Florida commercial litigation. The lawyers at the Jay Steven Levine Law Group have over a combined fifty years of legal experience, maintaining offices in Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens, and by appointment in the Treasure Coast.
For more information about the Jay Steven Levine Law Group, please email jsl@jsllawgroup.com. Additional information may be found at: http://www.jsllawgroup.com
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