SJJ Law Wins Another Important Case Against State Farm in Minnesota
SJJ attorneys Tim Johnson and Jordan Vassel recently won an important case against State Farm. A homeowner suffered a water line break that damaged kitchen cabinets and leaked down through ...
RECENT ARTICLES
Preparing Minneapolis: Does Your Property Have Riot Coverage?
Many insurance policies contain exclusions for damages associated with “civil unrest,” “riot or civil commotion,” “vandalism or malicious mischief,” or other terms meant to exclude the type of damages many Minneapolis property owners experienced as a result of rioting shortly after the death of George Floyd. With, the trial of former Minneapolis Police Office Derek Chauvin’s underway, many local business…
Another SJJ Victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals
Glaros Hanson v. Midwest Inv. Servs., LLC, 2020 WL 5647239 (Minn. Ct. App. 2021) Smith Jadin Johnson attorneys Charles Austinson and Tim Johnson recently won a case at the Court of Appeals disqualifying an attorney from representing a company against one of its clients. The case involved a limited liability company in which the plaintiff and defendant were equal owners.…
Court Orders Insurance Company to Identify Why it Denied a Claim
Discovery disputes in litigation are usually the result of unresolved misunderstandings between the parties over the nature of the issues in dispute. Most often, discovery disputes are and should be resolved without court intervention. Occasionally, there are bonafide discovery disputes that must be presented to the court for resolution. SJJ recently won a Motion to Compel Discovery ordering an insurer…
Additional Minnesota Statutes Concerning Homeowners Associations
Many Boards and property managers are familiar with the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. § 515B (“MCIOA”). MCIOA is the main statute that governs and regulates most, but not all, common-interest-communities (“CICs”) in Minnesota. While MCIOA is important, there are a handful of other statutes which Boards and managers will likely run across. The Fair Housing Act (“FHA”)…
Why MCIOA? The Advantages of Opting into the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act
The Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, Minn. Stat. § 515B et seq. (“MCIOA”, pronounced “em-kai-wah”) was passed by the Minnesota legislature in 1994 in order to provide a more uniform administration of common interest communities. Subject to a few exceptions, MCIOA applies to all condominium communities in Minnesota, as well as all townhome communities formed on or after June 1,…
Is There a Hidden Deadline in Your Homeowners Policy?
In prior posts, we have commented on the standard two-year time limit for suit found in many Minnesota homeowners policies that effectively serves to shorten the time in which you may make a claim for insurance proceeds. The two-year time limit for suit is generally enforceable and acts as a contractual statute of limitation. But, there are other deadlines tucked…
Creating an Annual Inventory of Your Home for Insurance Purposes
No one can predict when you will experience damage to your property from a fire, flood or other unexpected event. When it is time to make a claim to your insurance company for damage to your property, your insurer will almost certainly request a personal property inventory that will include a description of the property, its age and the cost…
Filing and Defending Your Theft and Vandalism Insurance Claim
Property insurance is something that anyone owning property should have. Insurable property includes your home, vehicle, and personal possessions that you own. Property insurance is intended to compensate you for the loss of your property in event of an accidental and unintended event to help you put your life back together. Typical losses are related to natural disasters, fires and…
SJJ Changes Iowa Insurance Law
SJJ attorney Tim Johnson recently won a huge case at the Iowa Supreme Court in Walnut Creek v. Depositors that will allow policyholders to have their disputed insurance claims resolved outside of court through the quicker and less expensive insurance appraisal process. The Walnut Creek case started as a disputed insurance claim. The insurance company claimed that hail had not damaged the…
SJJ Does it Again!
SJJ attorneys Tim Johnson and Alex Jadin won another case before the Minnesota Court of Appeals upholding a policyholder’s right to collect interest on an appraisal award. In Andersen v. Owners Insurance, the policyholder prevailed against its insurance company at appraisal and sought to recover interest on the appraisal award. The insurance company argued the policyholder was not entitled to…
Court Rules That Insured Is Entitled To Pre-award Interest On Full Rcv Amount Of Appraisal Award, Without Offsets For Prior Payments Made By Insurer
SJJ attorneys Alex Jadin and Tim Johnson recently won another case with significant implications for the insurance appraisal process in Minnesota. Niakwa Village Home Owners Association v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company involved a residential community that suffered hail damage in a recent storm. The Association made a claim for the damage to its insurance company, but the insurance company…
Do You Have Enough Insurance Coverage Against Minnesota’s Weather?
While most people choose an insurance policy for their home due to the price, it should not be your only consideration. It is equally important to choose the right coverage based upon the types of risks in your geographical area, and to be sure you have high enough policy limits to protect all of your property. In order to find…