Assessments, Condos vs. Town Homes
Each year, condominium associations work to obtain insurance at reasonable rates in an effort to comply with their statutory obligations to use “best efforts” to obtain insurance. In recent years, however, insurance rates...more
A condominium association in Florida is required by law to “use its best efforts to obtain and maintain adequate property insurance to protect the association, the association property, the common elements, and the...more
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, applying California law, has held that a professional liability insurer had no duty to defend its insured in an underlying lawsuit because the suit did...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry •A federal district court in New York has rejected a lawsuit filed by insureds under a title insurance policy...more
Cranfill Sumner LLP’s 2022 Legal Summit: Legal Trends in the Workplace and Case Law Updates is a virtual day of learning for insurance adjusters, attorneys, and HR professionals who are particularly interested in North...more
A federal district court, applying California law, has held that an insurer owed a duty to defend and indemnify an insured in an underlying nuisance litigation under a not-for-profit D&O policy, as the policy’s pollution,...more
Title insurance companies and closing agents handling transactions involving homeowners’ and condominium associations have long been frustrated by the timing and cost associated with obtaining estoppel letters from these...more
The United States District Court has confirmed in a recent decision that in most circumstances, the attorney-client privilege will be waived in bad faith litigation in South Carolina. In Contravest, Inc. v. Mt. Hawley Ins....more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure/Standing/Lost Note: if plaintiff did not have right to enforce note when lost, plaintiff should present evidence of assignment from payee to plaintiff or affidavit of ownership - ...more
The Colorado General Assembly is heading towards the conclusion of this year’s legislative session. Although one construction defect bill, House Bill 1279, passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate, most bills have...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Attorneys’ Fees: mortgage foreclosure plaintiffs seeking attorney’s fees must support their claim with competent, substantial evidence of the number of hours worked and evidence that...more
On February 24, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court reinstated a state trial court ruling that an “insured-versus insured” exclusion barred coverage under a D&O policy for the costs of defending a lawsuit. Because the D&O insurer...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Settlement/Waiver: borrowers permitted to raise affirmative defenses and counterclaims against lender where subject Loan Modification Agreement failed to include waiver of claims, affirmative...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Leave to Amend: borrower should have been granted leave to amend to assert affirmative defenses pursuant to motion filed 13 days before trial because there was no prejudice, the...more
A mason who performed work on a residential project was notified in 2006 that cracks had developed in his work. Several months later, the mason purchased a commercial general liability policy that expressly excluded coverage...more
Foreclosure/Statute of Limitations: statute of limitations did not bar foreclosure action even though filed more than five years after breach and acceleration of note upon which previous foreclosure action that had been...more
As this blog has repeatedly documented, it can be hard for insurers to assert the attorney-client privilege in the context of bad faith litigation. One difficulty arises in states that enforce a presumption against the...more
California Court: Rejected Demand Within Policy Limits Not Necessary for Bad Faith Claim - Why it matters: Insurers must proceed with caution when they become aware that a settlement within policy limits is possible,...more
Washington State has long been a jurisdiction with no judicial pronouncement as to the meaning of the term “collapse” in a property insurance policy. This changed on June 18, 2015, when the Washington Supreme Court issued its...more
A recent federal District Court decision from Indiana, Autumn Glen Homeowners Ass’n. v. Travelers Ind. Co. of America, 2015 WL 1256391, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33317 (S.D. Ind., Mar. 18, 2015) provides insight into both...more
Granite State Ins. Co. v. Integrity Structures, LLC, No. C14-5085BHS, 2015 WL 136006 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 9, 2015). The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington held that an insurer did not act in bad faith...more
Most of the leading law school textbooks explain arbitration by describing a case where a party suffers a loss and there is a dispute between the insurance company and the insured. The insured typically places a high value...more