A disagreement about whether or not insurance company, Aviva, has to compensate for a potentially unstable holiday home, situated on a cliff edge, belonging to a notable family from Co Waterford, could be settled in a High Court hearing, as directed by a judge. Allegations have been made that the house is at continued risk of falling down due to the cliffside partially collapsing.
The proceedings involve Gerald Jephson, who is an executor of his late father’s estate. His father, Robert C Jephson, together with his wife Pamela, was the founder of the award-winning independent food store, Ardkeen Quality Food Store in Waterford, which was established in 1967. After losing his father in March 2010 and his mother in May 2020, the family business is now overseen by their sons.
In a lawsuit against Aviva Insurance Ireland DAC, Gerald Jephson insists that the family’s holiday home, known as Yellow House, in Dunmore East, had insurance that covered potential hazards such as subsidence, ground movement, landslip, and/or land upheaval.
The holiday property, situated on a cliff facing northward and providing a view over the main beach in Dunmore East, was left unstable after a part of the cliff below it collapsed on January 15th, 2010, Mr. Jephson alleges. This has left the building’s foundation vulnerable and unsupported in the area impacted by the cliff fall.
The collapse has led to the loss of some ground next to and beneath the property. There’s an ongoing threat of the cliff eroding further, which could lead to the failure of the building. Minor additional collapses have occurred since 2010, according to Mr. Jephson.
A central point of contention in the disagreement with Aviva pertains to the precise nature of the insurance coverage for the property, be it under a HomeChoice or Homepak policy. Mr. Jephson states that the HomeChoice policy is applicable and that its 2010 clause provided compensation for damage or losses to buildings and domestic contents due to land subsidence, landslip, or upheaval on which the property is built.
Aviva has contested claims relating to the applicability of their Homepak policy, which specifically does not cover damage resulting from subsidence, landfall, landslip, and land heave, in January 2010. Legal proceedings began in the High Court in 2017, with a pause in the case enforced in January 2020 to facilitate arbitration.
However, in the latter part of 2021, Mr Jephson put forth a request for an order to lift the hold on the case, alleging that Aviva had broken an agreement to promptly and effectively partake in the arbitration. In response, Aviva argued against the allegations of unnecessary delay, attributing some of it to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. They also stated their desires to ascertain which policy was applicable via a trial of a preliminary issue in the arbitration. Mr Jephson’s team objected to this, insisting on a comprehensive hearing of all factual and legal issues.
In his recent judgment, Justice Mark Sanfey ultimately decided that Aviva had not effectuated the arbitration expediently or competently. He maintained that the extensive delays exceeding two years were sufficient grounds for Mr Jephson’s movement to lift the suspension of the case. As such, the judge declared that Mr Jephson has the right to an order lifting the stay. He also urged both parties to agree on a course of action to expedite the hearing of the case and for Aviva to swiftly make any attempts to resolve the preliminary issue regarding the applicable insurance policy.