Lurie v. Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co., LLC

Robert Lurie (plaintiff) bought a home in 1998 and also bought a title insurance policy from Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co., LLC (Commonwealth) (defendant). The title insurance was designed to protect Lurie from any liens, encumbrances, or defects of title and would pay costs, attorney’s fees, and expenses incurred in defense of the title. In 2003, Lurie’s neighbor, Michael Polinsky, replaced the fence between his and Lurie’s homes, and Lurie believed that the fence encroached onto Lurie’s property. In July 2008, Lurie filed suit against Polinsky, which Lurie dismissed with prejudice in December 2009. In December 2010, Lurie filed a second suit against Polinsky, which Lurie again dismissed with prejudice in June 2012. At that time, Lurie and Polinsky settled the dispute. Lurie had incurred $68,740.25 in attorney’s fees in the two suits. Lurie then filed suit against Commonwealth in 2015, alleging breach of the insurance contract, unjust enrichment, and vexatious refusal to pay. After filing the suit, Lurie filed a claim for the attorney’s fees Lurie had paid. In July 2016, Commonwealth denied the claims because Lurie had failed to timely notify Commonwealth of the lawsuits. The relevant portion of the policy required Lurie to notify Commonwealth of any claims that might cause loss or damage for which Commonwealth could be liable. Another provision required Lurie to notify Commonwealth promptly of any related litigation in writing. Lurie had not notified Commonwealth of these matters until Lurie filed the 2015 lawsuit. The matter proceeded to trial, the trial court granted summary judgment for Commonwealth, and Lurie appealed. Lurie argued that he had notified Commonwealth and that Commonwealth should not be entitled to summary judgment because Commonwealth had not established actual prejudice from Lurie’s failure to notify them.