Title Insurance Litigation

Overview                                                                                                                                                                                     

With our deep-rooted experience in real estate and insurance, Robinson+Cole’s Title Insurance Litigation Team ably and efficiently advises title insurance companies on all aspects of title insurance coverage, from exclusions to loss to closing protection letters and is frequently retained by title insurers to defend the interests of their insureds. We look for innovative solutions in advocating for our clients, with the goal of resolving title disputes promptly and conclusively.

Our Services and Our Team

Our lawyers, who are well versed in real estate as well as insurance, represent title insurance companies and defend their insured owners and lenders in in a wide range of controversies. Our Title Insurance Litigation Team members work jointly with clients to establish and carry out a plan of action, specifically in these areas:

  • coverage
  • loss
  • closing protection letters
  • priority and validity of mortgages and liens
  • fraud and defalcations
  • boundaries, access, and encroachments
  • missing interests
  • validity of condominium interest
    • Experience
      • Marshalling over 100 years of complex title records and boundary evidence and testimony of surveying and title experts, obtained judgment for a developer following a trial, affirming title to and boundaries of a 120-acre subdivision.

      • Represented and counseled title insurers on coverage of multimillion-dollar claims for condominium challenges, mechanic's liens, closing protection letters, zoning disputes, tender of the policy limits, and bad faith.

      • Obtained judgments for title insurers in jury and bench trials on coverage, bad faith, and recoupment claims.

      • Persuaded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to overturn an Appeals Court decision and affirm a condominium developer's retention of the right to remove land from a condominium. Queler, et al. v. Skowron, et al., 439 Mass. 304 (2002).

      • Convinced the Appeals Court of Massachusetts that the absence of a connection to a town sewer system did not constitute a title defect covered by the title insurance policy despite a municipal lien certificate that showed a sewer charge. Kokinis v. First American Title Insurance Co., 68 Mass. App. Ct. 1106 (2007).

      • Defended a large group of homeowners against a claim by a neighboring municipality over the location of a town line/subdivision boundary and obtained a favorable judgment following trial.  

      • Defended owners, lenders, and title insurers against claims of forged deeds, mortgages, and discharges of liens.  

      • Represented lenders and insurers in cases concerning litigation, resolution, and recoupment of mortgage frauds, overfinancing scams, defalcations, and forgeries.

    • News
      • November 7, 2023

        Kendra Berardi Recognized as a Massachusetts “Go To Lawyer” in Commercial Real Estate

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      • November 6, 2023

        Robinson+Cole Receives 42 First-Tier Metropolitan Rankings and Six National Rankings in Latest Edition of Best Law Firms®

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      • August 20, 2020

        61 Robinson+Cole Lawyers Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021

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Our Team

Members