What is an Appraisal?
After State Farm rate hike, legislators are pressured to provide relief. Here’s what could be on the table. - “Gov. JB Pritzker wasted no time in calling on state legislators to do something about rising insurance rates...more
Effective October 15, 2025, Massachusetts has adopted new home inspection regulations under 760 CMR 74.00 that prohibit sellers from accepting residential real estate offers containing preemptive inspection waivers, or...more
Effective July 1, Florida law will require builders of newly constructed homes to provide a mandatory 1-year warranty against material construction defects. The new statute, Section 553.837, Florida Statutes, establishes...more
On June 10, 2025, Governor Lamont signed Senate Bill No. 9 into law. In light of the passage of the bill, on July 8, 2025, the Connecticut Insurance Department (Department) issued Bulletin PC-93-25, addressed to “all...more
On July 1, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered summary judgment in favor of a national homebuilder against its insurance company, United Specialty Insurance Company (“USIC”), holding...more
Join us for a live webinar as Winstead attorney Teddy Holtz discusses new laws passed in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session. We will summarize important changes impacting Texas Homeowners' Associations and Condominium Owners'...more
In a recent Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals decision, homeowners who experienced significant property damage from both a fallen tree and inadequate contractor work were left without the protection of Ohio’s Consumer...more
Insurance has always been a critical backdrop in risk analysis. This is because when buying insurance, “an insured usually does not seek to realize a commercial advantage but, instead, seeks protection and security from...more
In a dissolution of marriage, the value of the marital home is often a significant issue. For some marriages, the marital home may be the most valuable marital asset. Determining the value of the marital home is crucial...more
Wildfires in California are occurring with greater frequency, causing more destruction, and increasingly igniting in unexpected locations and at unforeseen times. Since the 1970s, the length of the wildfire season in western...more
In the early hours of Wednesday, April 30, 2025, a devastating house fire in Trenton, New Jersey, left five people injured and caused nearby evacuations after loud explosions were heard from the scene. The fire and subsequent...more
Memorial Day is approaching and, with it, the unofficial start of summer. Many minds turn to thoughts of cookouts, inviting friends over to swim in backyard pools, and evenings spent playing basketball games on driveways....more
Washington state recently enacted some changes that may impact married couples and registered domestic partners. Under the new Spousal Personal Residence Exclusion, when a spouse/partner passes away on or after January 1,...more
Across the country, housing costs are steadily rising due to the growing shortage of homes available to sell or rent. With new leadership in key House and Senate committees and provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set...more
Residential construction contracts will often contain technical terms or jargon that leave many homeowners with uncertainty. Homeowners should be cautious of implicitly agreeing to language they do not understand when...more
Last week, 10 California homeowners filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the California FAIR Plan Association (CFPA) and several of its largest insurance company members. Plaintiffs allege defendants...more
On April 4, 2025, the California Attorney General announced that it had reached a settlement with a California-based realty company concerning claims that the company had violated California false advertising, unfair...more
Before shifting my practice from estate planning to estate litigation, I witnessed up close the challenges and frustrations associated with the California probate process. That has changed for many Californians. Assembly Bill...more
California’s Assembly Bill 2016 – which goes into effect April 1 – introduces significant positive changes to the probate process, particularly for primary residences. The law raises the value threshold for primary residences...more
On March 7, Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kristin Mayes filed a novel lawsuit alleging consumer fraud and racketeering against numerous entities, individuals, and even law firms and title companies involved in the residential...more
Montes v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Fla. 2d DCA, No. 2D2023-1200, February 12, 2025 - The Second District Court of Appeal revived an insurance coverage suit a homeowner brought against his insurance...more
In Gharibian et al., v. Wawanesa General Insurance Company, the California Second District Court of Appeal found that, under California law, the insureds failed to prove smoke, soot, ash and fire debris on covered property...more
The blacklisting of condominium/condo associations by financial institutions and insurance providers has emerged as a pressing issue in the real estate finance and housing sector. This practice, which involves lenders or...more
Howard Roy Housen and Valerie Housen v. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Fla. 4th DCA, No. 4D2023-2720, January 22, 2025 - The Fourth District Court of Appeals found that the homeowners demonstrated excusable...more
With the recent developments at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), many mortgage lenders have been left wondering about the extent to which the CFPB will enforce federal laws governing the mortgage lending...more