Fernandez v. Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
Insureds sued their title insurer for breach of the policy's duty to defend after the insurer refused to defend a Monroe County suit alleging tortious interference, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, and rescission of the insureds' deed. The Third DCA agreed the tort and conspiracy claims were not covered risks under a title policy, but held the rescission claim directly attacked the marketability of title and that the underlying pleading's conclusory fraud 'buzz words' were insufficient to conclusively establish that the 'created, suffered, assumed, or agreed to by the Insured' exclusion applied. Summary judgment for the insurer was reversed.
Key facts
- Insureds sued Old Republic National Title Insurance Company for breach of the insurer's duty to defend after the insurer refused to defend a Monroe County lawsuit alleging tortious interference, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, and rescission of the insureds' deed.
- The underlying complaint sought damages for torts and rescission of the deed based on alleged fraud, but the complaint contained only conclusory allegations of fraudulent and conspiratorial conduct without specific factual allegations of wrongdoing by the insureds.
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Why it matters
This is one of the few Florida appellate decisions to apply the duty-to-defend 'four corners' analysis to a title insurance policy, and it gives insureds a concrete pleading-specificity argument: conclusory fraud… — full analysis with a trial
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