Lick Mill Creek Apartments v. Chicago Title Insurance Co.
California Court of Appeal, Sixth District
283 Cal. Rptr. 231 (1991)
- Written by Dennis Chong, JD
Facts
Lick Mill Creek Apartments (plaintiff) (Lick Mill) purchased land in October 1986. The property had previously been used for commercial manufacturing purposes, and the soil, subsoil, and groundwater were contaminated with hazardous substances. Lick Mill purchased title insurance on the property from Chicago Title Insurance (defendant), which conducted a survey of the land and noted the presence of pipes, tanks, and pumps. Chicago Title issued a policy covering loss or damage resulting from, among other things, unmarketability of title and encumbrance on the land. Because state and federal law made subsequent purchasers responsible for the cleanup of hazardous material, Lick Mill expended monies to remove and clean up the land it purchased. Lick Mill sought reimbursement of their cleanup costs from Chicago Title. Chicago Title denied their claim, and Lick Mill sued. The trial court granted a demurrer on the complaint, and Lick Mill appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Agliano, P.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
