What is an Appraisal?
The vacation rental industry claims over two million properties throughout the United States. According to the Miliken Institute, California had 128,000 short-term vacation rental listings in 2022. The Big Bear region in...more
We all love to focus on the extravagant lives of celebrities, but how about the mundane aspects of their lives, like insurance? It might surprise you that many well-known people have used their homeowners insurance policies...more
In Florida, for years, the plaintiffs’ bar has been filing first-party property law suits for ensuing water damages caused by the failure of cast-iron pipes. In those cases, in which there is no evidence of interior water...more
Allie Gaiter* is a lifelong resident of Louisiana and has owned a modest home in Pierre Part, Louisiana for the past 20 years. Allie recently noticed damaged wood around her kitchen window and discolored sheetrock in the...more
Do costs associated with complying with an injunction constitute covered “damages?” The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota recently certified that question to the South Dakota Supreme Court, in Sapienza v....more
In 2011, Pasadena was hit by a powerful storm carrying hurricane force winds that injured more than 5,000 City-owned trees, 2,000 of which were uprooted. During the course of the storm, an approximately 110 foot tall Canary...more
During a windstorm, a tree owned by the City of Pasadena fell on Mr. O’Halloran’s residence, causing damage to his home. Mercury Casualty Company paid Mr. O’Halloran for the damage pursuant to his homeowner’s insurance...more
In most jurisdictions, underlying coverage issues must be resolved prior to invoking appraisal in a first-party property claim. The question of what constitutes a coverage issue (typically reserved for a court’s judicial...more