Michael J. Kuzmich

Real Estate and Business Litigation

• Represent real estate developers, lenders, for-profit businesses, non-profit land trusts, and individuals in a wide range of disputes arising from purchase-and-sale, development, and land-use agreements, leases, CC&Rs, boundary and survey issues, easements, conservation easements, and other claims for breach of contract, specific performance, rescission, fraud, misrepresentation, nondisclosure, breach of fiduciary and, others.
• Represent commercial landlords and tenants in lease and contract disputes, including commercial unlawful detainer actions.
• Experience representing national lending institutions on large construction projects against mechanic’s liens and bonded stop notice claims.

Title Insurance and Escrow Litigation

• Represent national title insurance and escrow companies and their insureds in prosecuting and defending litigation involving a wide range of title and real estate issues, including lien priority disputes, mechanic’s liens, easements, equitable subrogation, prosecution of subrogation claims for claims paid by insurers, fraud, and others.
• Assist industry clients with emergency situations involving time- and/or business-sensitive claims, coverage issues, escrows, and litigation.
• Correct defective chains of title and other liens and encumbrances through practical and cost-efficient solutions prior to filing litigation.
• Routinely dispose of cases for and against title insurance companies and insureds via dispositive motions, including demurrers and motions for summary judgment.
• Defend title insurers against claims for bad-faith breach of title insurance policies.
• Prosecute and defend appeals arising from our own cases and from cases handled by others at the trial court level.
• Boutin Jones Inc. represented an escrow agent in defending a lawsuit filed by a third party to an escrow. The escrow involved the transfer of real estate pursuant to a settlement agreement that arose from a trust/probate dispute. The lawsuit included causes of action for fraud, constructive fraud, professional negligence, and aiding and abetting, and arose from allegations that (1) there was an alleged defect in a deed of trust that was recorded and assigned to the plaintiff and (2) the escrow company refused to issue a policy of title insurance to the plaintiff because of the alleged defect. The firm successfully demurred to the plaintiff’s initial and amended complaints, and on appeal, the Court of Appeal affirmed and awarded costs to the firm’s client. The Court of Appeal agreed with the firm’s arguments, including that the duties of an escrow agent are limited to the parties to the escrow and did not extend to preventing the defect alleged by plaintiff. Michael J. Kuzmich and Michael E. Chase were the Boutin Jones shareholders involved in the case.