Sinkhole saga in Hudson could change law

Hudson, Florida - "All of these stair-step-cracks have gotten wider and then we've also had more cracks along the ceiling here," said Lynn Johnson as she points to the wall in the garage of her Mediterranean Court villa.

The cracks came last year after a sinkhole nearly swallowed up her next door neighbor's house - a house her home shares a wall with.

In fact, the entire neighborhood is home to various villas where six units are all attached.

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As snowbirds from Chicago, Johnson said, "We didn't even know what a sinkhole was, which is why we weren't concerned about sinkhole insurance."

So the Johnsons have "catastrophic ground coverage," which means their home is only covered for disastrous damage which they don't have... yet.

While her neighbor has sinkhole coverage and was recently paid out, the sinkhole is still there. "He can either fix it or walk away with it and it is leaving us in a lurch, because we can't move on or make any repairs," said Johnson.

Frustrated, Johnson reached out to her State Senator, Mike Fasano, for help.

"What's not okay is that Citizens took this long and is not fixing the sinkhole," said Fasano. After exhausting every effort, Fasano says it is time he steps in to make a change in the law for good so that this bad thing doesn't happen to anyone else.

Fasano told 10 Connects, "We're already working with Citizens and the private insurance companies - where there are attached villas, like in this case - there would be a requirement that everyone have the full sinkhole coverage."

It would also require companies like Citizens to fix a sinkhole in a shared unit situation.

As for the Johnsons, retirement plans are now on hold. "We've worked our whole life to move down here and it is just horrible," said Johnson, fighting back the tears.

At least her sinkhole situation can save someone else from suffering.

According to Fasano, the Johnsons' last hope is to persuade Pasco County to condemn the entire building. If that happens, Citizens would have to pay out every homeowner.