Old Republic Nat'l Title Ins. Co. v. RM Kids LLC

In the absence of specific policy language, a title insurer's liability to a mortgagee should be measured using the foreclosure date, since the foreclosure is when the insured actually incurred a covered loss.

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RM Kids, LLC, filed suit against Old Republic National Title Insurance Company “Old Republic”, alleging, inter alia, breach of contract and bad faith refusal to pay a claim under a policy of lender’s title insurance issued by Old Republic. Following a lengthy trial, a jury rendered a verdict in favor of RM Kids and awarded $7,100,000 in damages. Shortly thereafter, the trial court issued a judgment affirming the jury’s verdict, and both parties filed cross-appeals.

In Case No. A16A0257, Old Republic contends that the trial court erred in ruling that the date of RM Kids’s loss was the date its predecessor-in-interest closed on the loan for the subject property rather than the date RM Kids foreclosed on the property. Moreover, Old Republic argues that even if the date of the loss was, in fact, the closing date, the trial court, nevertheless, erred in ruling that RM Kids had standing to assert a claim for a loss that its predecessor actually incurred. Old Republic also maintains that the trial court erred in 1 affirming the jury’s verdict that “environmental stigma” was a title defect covered by the policy; 2 admitting unreliable expert testimony; and 3 denying its motion for directed verdict to preclude any consideration of diminution of value to an adjoining tract of property that was purchased separately from the tract for which the title insurance policy was initially issued. In Case No. A16A0258, RM Kids contends that the trial court erred in denying its claims for bad-faith damages and prejudgment interest as a matter of law.

Old Republic Nat'l Title Ins. Co. v. RM Kids LLC

In the absence of specific policy language, a title insurer's liability to a mortgagee should be measured using the foreclosure date, since the foreclosure is when the insured actually incurred a covered loss.

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