Articles ZEK’s Kenneth Rudd and David Hamilton Win Appeal for Large Mortgage Servicer March 11, 2015 On March 11, 2015, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld a grant of summary judgment in favor of ZEK client, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., in a case significant to all mortgage servicers. See Dichira v. Nawid, __ A.D.3d __, 2015 NY Slip Op. 01921, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1909 (2d Dept. March 11, 2015). In Dichira v. Nawid, An individual commenced a lawsuit alleging that he tripped and fell on real property on which Countrywide held a mortgage. He sued the property owner for negligence, and the property owner, in turn, brought a third party complaint against several parties, including Countrywide. The mortgagor-property owner alleged that Countrywide had a duty to pay his liability insurance premium out of escrow funds, which it failed to do, leaving him uninsured. The Second Department accepted ZEK’s argument that Countrywide had no contractual or other legal obligation to pay liability insurance premiums for the benefit of the mortgagor and therefore upheld summary judgment in favor of Countrywide. A copy of the opinion is available below. Dichira v Nawid – 2015 Appellate Division Decision
ZEK’s Kenneth Rudd and David Hamilton Win Appeal for Large Mortgage Servicer March 11, 2015 On March 11, 2015, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld a grant of summary judgment in favor of ZEK client, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., in a case significant to all mortgage servicers. See Dichira v. Nawid, __ A.D.3d __, 2015 NY Slip Op. 01921, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1909 (2d Dept. March 11, 2015). In Dichira v. Nawid, An individual commenced a lawsuit alleging that he tripped and fell on real property on which Countrywide held a mortgage. He sued the property owner for negligence, and the property owner, in turn, brought a third party complaint against several parties, including Countrywide. The mortgagor-property owner alleged that Countrywide had a duty to pay his liability insurance premium out of escrow funds, which it failed to do, leaving him uninsured. The Second Department accepted ZEK’s argument that Countrywide had no contractual or other legal obligation to pay liability insurance premiums for the benefit of the mortgagor and therefore upheld summary judgment in favor of Countrywide. A copy of the opinion is available below. Dichira v Nawid – 2015 Appellate Division Decision