Rebecca Blunden and Tim Sterling Win Summary Judgment in Insurance Policy “Vacancy” Exclusion Dispute

Rebecca Blunden and Tim Sterling recently won summary judgment for CCTB client Mississippi Residential Property Insurance Underwriting Association in the Lauderdale County Circuit Court, which enforced a policy provision that excluded coverage for structures that are vacant or unoccupied for 90 consecutive days. Even though the landlord claimed he did not know his tenant had not moved into the house after signing a lease and before the fire that damaged the house, an investigation revealed that the house had been vacant for 100 consecutive days, so the court ruled in favor of Mississippi Residential based on the “clear” terms of the policy provision.