Resort won’t reimburse us, sinkhole victims say

Vacationerswhonarrowly escaped the sinkhole collapse of villas at the Summer Bay Resort nearWalt Disney World say the time- share company is reneging on promises to reimburse them for losses of thousands of dollars in personal property.

“They told us they’d make us whole,” said Maggie Ghamry, who fled the crumbling condominium Aug. 11 with a friend, three toddlers and little more than the swimsuits they were wearing. “This isn’t making us whole.”

Ghamry, a graphic designer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor from Gainesville, Va., received a letterMonday signed by Summer Bay CEO and President Paul Caldwell indicating the company will not pay for personal- property losses, despite a public pledge to do so.

“It’s definitely blind- sided us,” said Ghamry, who received $ 1,400 from Summer Bay but listed sinkhole losses in electronics, designer bags and clothing totaling $ 10,000, including a camera and lenses; a laptop computer; two iPads; and Coach and LouisVuitton handbags.

The resort has no obligation under Florida law to replace items lost in the sinkhole, the letter said. “We have, however, learned that suchlossesmightberecoverable under an owner or guest’s personal homeowner’s insurance policy,” it read.

Although many homeowner policies cover personal property losses due to fire, theft and other vacation “perils,” coverages vary from company to company and state to state, said Robert H. Jerry, dean of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and an expert in insurance law.

“There also are exclusions that kick in,” he said.

No one was injured when the sinkhole opened at the resort in the Four Corners area of Lake County. About three dozen people, many clad in pajamas, were evacuated from the villas on the 300- acre property.