ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Some people whose Florida vacation villas fell into a sinkhole say the time-share company won't reimburse them for personal property they lost.
Maggie Ghamry, a graphic artist from Virginia who was one of the vacationers affected by the Aug. 11 sinkhole collapse at Summer Bay Resort in Florida's Four Corners area, said the company had promised to make the victims "whole," but an Aug. 26 letter from Summer Bay Chief Executive Paul Caldwell indicated they won't be paid for personal property losses, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday.
"They told us they'd make us whole. This isn't making us whole," said Ghamry, who said her losses amounted to about $10,000. "It's definitely blind-sided us."
The letter from Caldwell stated under Florida law "a public lodging establishment is not responsible for the loss of personal belongings," but the victims might be able to recover their losses under their "personal homeowner's insurance policy," the newspaper said.
About three dozen people were evacuated during the sinkhole episode.
Caldwell had been quoted after the collapse as saying: "No one will suffer any economic loss. There are some inconveniences to their vacations which sickens us but, believe us, we're doing everything to make this a special vacation."
