NHS Beats Lighthouse In ‘Gold Diggers’ Game For Childhood Cancer
September 25, 2018
The Northview Lady Chiefs defeated Lighthouse Christian in three quick sets Monday in Bratt in a game that benefit childhood cancer awareness.
The Chiefs won three straight 25-8, 25-7, 25-1.
Proceeds from the “Gold Diggers” game will benefit the Childhood Cancer Organization. Award winners from a recent Northview Lady Chief volleyball game were also recognized (see photo below).
Tuesday, the Northview Lady Chiefs will travel to Laurel Hill.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Class Action Lawsuit Rejected On Property Insurance Costs
September 25, 2018
A divided federal appeals court Monday rejected class-action lawsuits filed by Florida homeowners who said they were charged too much for property insurance after leaving it to mortgage companies to buy coverage.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt with what is known as “force-placed insurance,” which occurs when people with mortgages do not buy property-insurance coverage. Lenders then buy coverage and pass along the costs to the borrowers.
Four Florida residents and a Pennsylvania resident filed class-action lawsuits in 2015 against two mortgage-servicing companies and American Security Insurance Co., alleging a scheme that led to inflated charges for force-placed insurance. At least in part, they alleged that Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC and Caliber Home Loans, Inc. received rebates from American Security Insurance, the force-placed insurer, but didn’t pass along those savings to the borrowers, according to Monday’s ruling.
The lawsuits, which became consolidated, included a series of allegations, including breach of contract, racketeering, violation of the Federal Truth in Lending Act and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
But the appeals court, in a 28-page majority opinion, upheld decisions by a U.S. district judge in South Florida to dismiss the cases. The opinion centered on state regulators approving the rates charged by American Security Insurance — and a legal concept, known as the filed-rate doctrine, that seeks to keep courts out of rate-making decisions.
“The plain language of the complaints … shows that the plaintiffs are challenging the reasonableness of ASIC’s (American Security Insurance’s) premiums; and since these premiums are based upon rates filed with state regulators, plaintiffs are directly attacking those rates as being unreasonable as well. … Because the plaintiffs should be understood as meaning what they say, we find that they have challenged ASIC’s filed rate. As such, there can be no doubt that their causes of action are barred by the filed-rate doctrine,” said the majority opinion, written by Judge Danny J. Boggs and joined by Judge Frank Hull.
But Judge Adalberto Jordan wrote a 36-page dissent that said the federal appeals court should send the issue to the Florida Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for guidance about how the states view the filed-rate doctrine. He also took issue with the majority’s interpretation of the facts in the cases.
“ASIC and the lenders argue that the filed rate doctrine bars the homeowners’ claims because they amount to generalized grievances that ASIC’s insurance rates are unreasonably high, and seek only to force the defendants to sell (in ASIC’s case) or bill for (in the lenders’ case) insurance at lower rates,” Jordan wrote. “But that argument misreads the homeowners’ claims. The homeowners assert that, regardless of the insurance rate ASIC charged, the lenders are contractually obligated to charge only the amount of insurance they actually paid. By engaging in side agreements with ASIC for ‘commissions,’ ‘reinsurance,’ and other kickbacks — transactions that are of course, unregulated — the lenders found a way to discount their insurance costs. Given that the mortgage contracts between the homeowners and the lenders required the lenders to charge the homeowners for only ‘the cost’ of insurance, the lenders breached those contracts by demanding more than the discounted cost they paid ASIC.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Vehicle Hits Tree In Cottage Hill
September 25, 2018
There were no reported injuries in this single vehicle accident late Monday afternoon on Highway 95A at Cottage Hill Road. The driver left the roadway and struck a tree. NorthEscambia.com photo by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
ECSO: Cantonment Man Punched Deputy, Threatened To Shoot Other Deputies
September 24, 2018
A Cantonment man injured an Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy during a fight and threatened to shoot deputies during an incident early Sunday morning.
Vincent Jerome Clay, 49, was charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and threats to a law enforcement officer. He was released from the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $12,000.
Deputies responded to a disturbance on Calloway Street after Clay threatened to murder a woman that might live with his father because she threatened him and was posting about him on Facebook, according to an arrest report.
While the first deputy on scene was talking to a witness, Clay called 911 and asked for a supervisor and told the dispatcher that he was going to shoot at deputies. When the deputy approached Clay in his yard, he pulled away and refused verbal commands.
The deputy attempted to grab his arm, Clay quickly turned abound and punch the deputy in the right eye and then twice more in the face, according to the ECSO. Clay and the deputy went to the ground fighting each other. The deputy was able to get one top of Clay and place a taser to his neck.
Clay continued and “resisted all efforts to be handcuffed”, the report states. Additional deputies arrived on scene and placed him under arrest.
The deputy treated on scene by Escambia County EMS and transported by a supervisor to Sacred Heart Hospital with a swollen eye and concern over possible head trauma.
Motorcyclist Critically Injured On Nine Mile Road
September 24, 2018
A motorcyclist was critically injured in a wreck early Monday morning on Nine Mile Road.
Edward D. Cochran, 55, was stopped at a stop sign on Bowman Avenue when he pulled his Lexus onto Nine Mile Road and into the path of a Harley motorcycle driven by 54-year old Kenneth W. Pike, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The motorcycle struck the side of the Lexus.
Pike was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition. Charges against Cochran and pending the outcome of the FHP investigation.
File photo.
Escambia County Makes Safety Improvements On State Line Road
September 24, 2018
Escambia County has made safety improvements on State Line Road in Century.
Rows of reflectors were added in addition to rumble strips to warn drivers as they approach a 90-degree curve adjacent to the Highway 29 overpass into Alabama. The curve has been the location of several accidents over the past several years.
Pictured top: A July accident on State Line Road in Century after a driver failed to negotiate a 90-degree curve and struck a utility pole. Pictured below: Escambia County has added rumble strips as drivers approach the curve. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Military And Overseas Ballots On The Way
September 24, 2018
Vote-by-mail ballots are on the way from the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office to eligible military and overseas citizens. Voters will either receive their ballot by mail or electronically, depending on their chosen method of delivery.
Vote-by-mail ballots for all eligible domestic voters will be mailed beginning on Tuesday, October 2. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed for the General Election is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31. To request or track your vote-by-mail ballot for the General Election, visit EscambiaVotes.com and click “Vote by Mail”, or contact the Supervisor of Elections Office at (850) 5953900.
For more information, visit EscambiaVotes.com.
Bonus Pics: NHS Band, Cheerleaders
September 24, 2018
Click here for a bonus photo gallery featuring Northview cheerleaders, the Tribal Beat Band and the NJROTC.
For game details from Friday night and an action photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
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Take Stock in Children Selects 25 New Students For Scholarship Program
September 24, 2018
There were 25 middle school students were recently selected for the Take Stock in Child Scholarship program.
There are now a total of 126 students in grades 7-12 in Escambia County’s program. Students will receive a college scholarship upon graduation from high school as long as they maintain good grades, attendance and citizenship, remain crime and drug free, and meet weekly with a volunteer community mentor.
The newly selected students include:
- Ernest Ward Middle School – Allyson Jones, Dequan Shabazz, Brier Thompson
- Ransom Middle School – Kaylee Emmons, Bobbie-Sue Jarrell, Quentin Lewis-Wright, Malachi Williams
- Jim Bailey Middle School – Henry Addy, Nathan Barberi, Luke Campbell, Brogan Dougherty, Nyla Hunter-Smith, Keyonte Smith, Jayla Stallworth
- Brown Barge MiddleSchool – Ralynn Durant, Jessica Hatton, Bailey Poston
- Ferry Pass Middle School – Jaden Allen, Ariyanna Cunningham, Nolan Howie, Chaeli Lackey
- Workman Middle School – Nancy Mendez-Rostro, Chancellor Washington
Take Stock in Children is a statewide non-profit organization operating locally under the Escambia County Public Schools Foundation. Take Stock provides “scholarships, mentors & hope” to deserving young people selected through a need-based application process through the public middle schools at the end of their 6th grade year. Scholarship donations from local foundations, organizations, businesses and individuals are matched dollar-for-dollar when scholarships are purchased from Florida Prepaid College Foundation each year and are held until students successfully graduate from high school.
Pictured are: (front, L-R) Chancellor Washington, Brier Thompson, Jayla Stallworth, Luke Campbell, Malachi Williams, (second row) Bailey Poston, Chaeli Lackey, Quentin Lewis-Wright, Allyson Jones, Nancy Mendez-Rostro, Jessica Hatton, (third row0 Brogan Dougherty, Henry Addy, Arianna Cunningthom, Jaden Allen, Chancellor Washington, (fourth row) Kaylee Emmons, Dequan Shabazz, Ralynn Durant, and Bobbie-Sue Jarrell. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Appointee Sought For Escambia Board Of Electrical Examiners
September 24, 2018
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering to be considered for an appointment to the Escambia County Board of Electrical Examiners.
Escambia County residents interested in serving on the Escambia County Board of Electrical Examiners are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve by the close of business on Wednesday, October 3. Resumes should be submitted to Jennifer Hampton, director’s aide, Escambia County Building Services Department, 3363 West Park Place, Pensacola, FL 32505 or emailed to jahampton@myescambia.com.