I was recently participating in a mediation for a client condominium association. We are pursuing a first party insurance claim for property damage discovered by the client. Due to the amount of repairs necessary for the project, the client triggered certain code upgrades required by the County and fire department. The upgrades were both unexpected and costly at just under $500,000. read more

A large part of my practice is assisting associations and property owners with first party insurance claims. For those I haven't had a chance to work with, a first party insurance claim is a claim against an association or owner's own property insurance policy. These claims often involve significant property damage to properties that are past the statute of limitations to pursue the developer or contractors that built or converted the project. Washington has been ahead of the curve with respect to recovery on first party claims. Oregon, for reasons too lengthy to discuss here, has generally been unfavorable to first party claimants. read more