Debral Realty, Inc. v. Ticor Title Insurance

9 Mass. L. Rptr. 156
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedOctober 2, 1998
DocketNo. 955929
StatusPublished

This text of 9 Mass. L. Rptr. 156 (Debral Realty, Inc. v. Ticor Title Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Debral Realty, Inc. v. Ticor Title Insurance, 9 Mass. L. Rptr. 156 (Mass. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

Neel, J.

Plaintiff Debral Realty, Inc. (“Debral”) filed this action to recover payment from Ticor Title Insurance Company (“Ticor”) under a title insurance policy issued on property mortgaged to Debral. The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment.

For the following reasons, summary judgment shall enter for Ticor on Count I of the Complaint, and partial summary judgment shall enter for Ticor on Count II of the Complaint.

BACKGROUND

The parties have submitted an agreed upon stipulation of facts. The relevant facts are as follows.

On June 9, 1988, Debral loaned $300,000 to Overview Development Corporation and Stoneymeade Development Corporation. This loan was secured by a mortgage on properly in Concord and Acton, Massachusetts.

In December 1988, Debral agreed to release one of the secured parcels of land from the mortgage; in exchange, Debral agreed to accept substitute mortgages on the personal residences of Richard M. Brown and Mark M. Gallagher, the principals of Overview and Stoneymeade.

On December 7, 1988, Richard M. Brown and his wife granted Debral a mortgage on their home in Acton, and Mark M. Gallagher granted Debral a mortgage on his home, also in Acton. At that time, Debral was aware that both Acton properties were subject to a first mortgage in favor of Century Bank & Trust Company (“Century”) in the amount of $617,530. Debral was also aware that the Acton properties were subject to an execution in favor of Concord Lumber Company in the amount of $142,166.22. Prior to the closing on the December 7, 1988 mortgages, the attorney representing Brown and Gallagher, Mark L. Scheier, informed Debral that the execution in favor of Concord Lumber would be “taken care of at closing” [157]*157and was “not a concern.” Scheier’s firm, Scheier, Scheier & Graham, P.C., was at the time a policy-issuing agent of Ticor.

On December 12, 1988, Ticor, through its agent Scheier, Scheier & Graham, P.C., issued to Debral two title insurance policies covering the Acton properties, each in the amount of $250,000. The policies listed, as the only lien on the Acton properties superior to Debral’s mortgages, the outstanding mortgage in favor of Centuiy. They did not list the Concord Lumber execution, which had not been “taken care of,” and which, along with the Century mortgage, was superior to Debral’s mortgages.

In March 1989, Century had the Acton properties appraised at a combined value of $766,000. In October 1989, Debral issued notices of intention to foreclose to Gallagher and Brown. When Debral commenced foreclosure proceedings in the summer of 1990, it learned that the execution in favor of Concord Lumber was still outstanding, and was superior to Debral’s interest. Debral continued with the foreclosures and, as the highest bidder, acquired title to the Acton properties subject to Century’s mortgage and Concord’s execution.

On May 22, 1991, Centuiy foreclosed its first mortgage on the Acton properties. At that time, the combined fair market value of the properties was $635,000; the total amount owed to Centuiy was $710,000. The properties sold for $580,000 at foreclosure, leaving a substantial deficiency owed to Century. Neither Concord nor Debral received any funds from the foreclosure, and their liens were extinguished.

After filing a claim for payment under the title insurance policies and being denied payment, Debral filed an action in Superior Court. The action was dismissed on December 9, 1991, on the grounds that Debral had not made sufficient efforts to collect the sums it was owed by the obligors and guarantors of the underlying debt.1 Debral subsequently filed in Concord District Court actions against the obligors and guarantors, seeking to recover $131,377.77 it claimed due under the June 9, 1988 loan to Overview and Stoneymeade. In March 1995, Debral settled those actions under an arrangement whereby, for an actual cash payment of $30,000 from defendants (which was paid in full by October 1996), Debral filed in those actions an agreement for judgment in the amount of $95,000 marked “paid in full.” Debral commenced this action against Ticor in October of 1995.

DISCUSSION

Both parties ask this Court to grant summary judgment, as a matter of law, pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 56. A court may grant summary judgment when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Regrading v. Commissioner of Correction, 390 Mass. 419, 422 (1983); Community National Bank v. Dawes, 369 Mass. 550, 553 (1976); Mass.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of affirmatively demonstrating the absence of a triable issue “and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Pederson v. Time, Inc., 404 Mass. 14, 17 (1989). “If the moving party establishes the absence of a triable issue, the party opposing the motion must respond and allege specific facts which would establish the existence of a genuine issue of material fact in order to defeat [the] motion.” Id. A party moving for summary judgment who does not bear the burden of proof at trial may demonstrate the absence of a triable issue either by submitting affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case or by showing that the nonmoving party is unlikely to submit proof of that element at trial. Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp., 410 Mass. 706, 714 (1991). “[T]he opposing party cannot rest on his or her pleadings and mere assertions of disputed facts to defeat the motion for summary judgment.” LaLonde v. Eissner, 405 Mass. 207, 209 (1989).

Count I — Contractual Recovery on Title Insurance Policies

Title insurance is a contract of indemnification: it pays the policy holder only for actual loss or damage caused by a title defect, and does not insure repayment of the underlying secured debt. Falmouth Nat’l Bank v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 920 F.2d 1058, 1062-63 (1st Cir. 1990) (applying Massachusetts law). Accordingly, any damages that may be owed to Debral by Ticor are determined by the extent of any actual loss to Debral caused by the title defect.

The dispute in this case arises over the point in time at which “actual loss” is determined. The parties agree that Debral’s “actual loss” is measured by the difference between what Debral did in fact recover and what it would have recovered without the title defect. However, Ticor claims that Debral cannot assess actual loss until it has pursued its remedies against the mortgagors to the fullest extent, citing the First Circuit’s holding in Falmouth, supra. Applying Ticor’s theoiy of actual loss, Debral’s loss was not fixed until it recovered a judgment against the mortgagors and failed to receive full payment on that judgment. At that point, Ticor contends, Debral had no actual loss, as the foreclosure of the first mortgage resulted in a sale price that was insufficient to satisfy even the first mortgage.

In contrast, Debral urges the Court to rule that actual loss is assessed at the time of the October 1989 default on the loans secured by Debral’s mortgages. At that time, the property had a market value of $731,000, and a first mortgage amount of $675,000, leaving equity in the amount of $61,000 [158]*158which Debral could have recovered had the defect not existed.2

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Spurlin v. Merchants Insurance
57 F.3d 9 (First Circuit, 1995)
Trigiani v. American Title Insurance
573 A.2d 230 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Pederson v. Time, Inc.
532 N.E.2d 1211 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1989)
LaLonde v. Eissner
539 N.E.2d 538 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1989)
Community National Bank v. Dawes
340 N.E.2d 877 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1976)
Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp.
575 N.E.2d 734 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Cassesso v. Commissioner of Correction
456 N.E.2d 1123 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1983)
Gulezian v. Lincoln Insurance
506 N.E.2d 123 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
9 Mass. L. Rptr. 156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/debral-realty-inc-v-ticor-title-insurance-masssuperct-1998.