Former residents file suit
Two people from Good Samaritan sue over handling of flooding
Two former Good Samaritan Kissimmee Village residents filed a lawsuit this week accusing the retirement community of misrepresenting the risk of flooding before Hurricane Ian deluged their home and those of hundreds of other seniors last year.
The two women who sued, Maureen Kotch and Lucille Bishop, lived together in an apartment that backed up to Shingle Creek, which flooded when Ian soaked Osceola County with 14 inches of rain in late September. Theirs was one of the 523 units the retirement community decided not to repair due to significant damage from flood waters.
Jeffrey Hussey, attorney and director of public interest and litigation at Community Legal Services, said Kotch and Bishop had just moved into their apartment after moving from New York a few months before Ian hit.
“They asked specifically about if there was a risk or is there a danger of flooding and they were told no by a representative of Good Sam,” Hussey said. “They negligently misrepresented the safety of the building and they had a duty to warn our clients that, yes, you are in a flood zone and that this had been flooded in the past.”
The two women were also coerced into signing a waiver to release Good Samaritan from financial responsibility in exchange for receiving their security deposit back, which they were already entitled to the money without signing the release, according to court documents.
“Florida law does not require them to sign any specific document to get their security deposit back and they need that security deposit back because they knew they were going to have to find a new place,” Hussey said. “So, we felt that they took advantage of a vulnerable adult in efforts to try to get them to sign away all their rights.”
In a statement, Aimee Middleton, Good Samaritan Society’s vice president of operations, said the retirement community does not comment on pending legal proceedings.
Kotch and Bishop have been living in a hotel since the hurricane left their home uninhabitable and are struggling to find affordable housing, Hussey said.
According to court documents, the women are seeking between $30,000 and $50,000 in damages due to the hurricane, which Hussey said will help them afford a new apartment. The women did not have flood insurance because they were told there wasn’t a risk of flooding, Hussey said.
Good Samaritan on its website advertises affordable senior housing that includes HUD-subsidized, low-income housing tax credit and rural development communities.
“They are, in essence, homeless,” Hussey said. “They’re the first ones to try and challenge Good Sam ... and hopefully this will also be a vehicle to not only help them but other residents for some things.”
The women, who are breast cancer survivors, lost nearly all of their possessions including curio cabinet with collectibles, Elvis Presley memorabilia, photographs and both of their prosthetic breasts, according to court documents.
Hussey said he expects Good Samaritan will put up a fight and
may dispute what happened but it will be for a jury and the court system to decide. Many of Kissimmee Village residents that Community Legal Services have been helping in the aftermath of Ian have very similar stories, he said.
In January, Good Samaritan announced to its Kissimmee Village residents it would be selling the property, a move that Hussey said doesn’t impact his clients or other residents’ abilities to sue.
“They were the owner and operator of the facility at the time that this all occurred so selling does not get you off the hook,” Hussey said.
Middleton said Good Samaritan “is committed to working through the recovery process in Kissimmee Village before a transition takes place in order to best support our residents, employees and families.”