- 31 -
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Atmore Residence
Both 1997 earthquakes occurred in Escambia County, Alabama;
the May 3, 1997, earthquake registered 3.1 on the Richter scale,
and the October 24, 1997, earthquake registered 4.9 on the
Richter scale. During the period September 21-30, 1998,
Hurricane Georges caused damage in the Caribbean region and
across the southern Gulf States of the United States and produced
13.5 inches of rainfall and wind gusts up to 85 miles per hour in
Alabama.
On their 1997 return, petitioners claimed a casualty loss of
$300,000 for reduction in the fair market value of the Atmore
residence. Petitioners claim the 1997 earthquakes caused a crack
or cracks on the ground floor on opposite sides of the house that
are less than one-thirty-second of an inch in width; the crack or
cracks are in the limestone tile floor of the family room on the
west side of the house and the granite tile floor of the master
bathroom on the east side of the house.10 Petitioners have never
inspected the floors underneath the carpets in rooms between the
family room and master bathroom to determine whether the crack or
cracks run continuously through the ground floor of the Atmore
10It is not clear from the record whether there is one
continuous crack running through the ground floor of the Atmore
residence or more than one crack in different rooms of the house.
Page: Previous 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011