Opinion ID: 3056515
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Engineer Creeden’s Report

Text: Plaintiffs retained their own engineer, Creeden, to evaluate the damage. Creeden submitted his engineering report to Plaintiffs on June 22, 2009. Generally, Creeden determined that the scope of damages caused by the trees was greater than that found by Chapski. In his report, Creeden concluded that not only was the rear deck’s handrail damaged but that the tree impact forced the rear deck inward against the home, displacing the kitchen cabinets and causing damage to some of the home’s rear walls. As one example, Creeden found that the tree impact pushed the rear two-story wall of the great room inward by about one inch. Creeden’s report described damage caused by the trees in these areas of Plaintiffs’ home: the rear deck, the great room, the kitchen, the breakfast area, the basement, the master bedroom, and the bedroom in the left rear area of the home. But Creeden also concluded that the damage was “not structurally significant, in that the damage [did] not place any elements at risk of structural failure” and the necessary repairs would be “primarily cosmetic.” To repair the damage, Creeden recommended, among other things, removing and replacing sheetrock and base and shoe moldings, pushing or pulling the walls straight, beating back displaced wall studs, resetting the kitchen cabinets, adjusting 3 Case: 12-11125 Date Filed: 12/06/2012 Page: 4 of 16 displaced doors, and repairing or replacing damaged siding and a damaged gutter on the home’s exterior. To repair the two-story wall of the great room, Creeden recommended pushing or pulling the wall straight and installing steel straps to hold the wall in position. State Farm agreed to pay for the scope of work described by Creeden’s engineering report. State Farm’s adjuster, Van Westmoreland, prepared a June 29, 2009 estimate which calculated the cost to make Creeden’s recommended repairs as $14,702.01. Based on Westmoreland’s estimate, State Farm sent Plaintiffs a check for $11,002.01. This represented the net difference between Westmoreland’s estimate ($14,702.01), the $1,000 deductible, and a $2,700 advance issued to Plaintiffs by State Farm to cover the cost of removing the fallen trees. State Farm also paid Plaintiffs $1,979 to cover the damage to their personal property associated with the tree collapse and to reimburse them for the cost of their engineer Creeden’s services. Plaintiffs still disagreed and refused to cash any checks. Plaintiffs lodged complaints with Georgia’s DOI. In an effort to resolve the dispute, Georgia’s DOI asked a third engineer, Craig, to inspect the home independently. Georgia’s DOI required State Farm to pick up the cost. Plaintiffs were able to point out to Craig all the damages they claimed were caused by the trees. 4 Case: 12-11125 Date Filed: 12/06/2012 Page: 5 of 16