The End is Near — Settlement and Dispute Resolution

As a lawyer it sometimes feels as though you work and work but nothing is ever fully resolved.  This month has been different for me – I have actually put the final signatures on settlements of four different kinds of cases — all central to the kind of work that I do.  The cases included:

1. a dispute on the location of a boundary as it pertained to riparian rights and a pier location;

2. a dispute on insurance coverage on damages to a boat;

3. a dispute between a purchaser and broker on a boat purchase; and

4. a dispute over erosion control efforts on community property.

Resolution of a case is always a team effort that includes dedicated clients that are willing to do the hard work of obtaining facts and facing the risk that a case does not go their way.  Patience and appropriate strategy a must.  If the opportunity presents itself to obtain results through negotiation and settlement, the entire team must have a clear idea of the achievable goals and be ready to compromise as needed.

Dispute on Boundaries, Riparian Rights and Pier Location

In Calvert County, Maryland, our client owned a property with a house at the end of a street in an incorporated town.  When the town was designed, his lots did not reach the water and the town owned a strip of land which included the entire waterfront.  Over time, however, erosion ate through the land between his property in the water, so that some lots in the subdivision were entirely submerged, and my client had a small cove that provided access to the bay.  The town took ownership of the submerged lots and a small remaining parcel that was still above water, leading my clients to worry that the town intended to put a walkway around his property which would isolate his property from the bay and decrease his privacy.

We filed a declaratory judgment action stating that he had obtained riparian rights when the water reached his property and asserting adverse possession over the land next to his lot.  After discussions with the Town stemming from the suit, it came to light that the town was willing to forego putting in a walkway if it could get an easement along the water to install a flood control berm.  Although the negotiations were difficult, we eventually reached an agreement that allowed for my client to have a location that allowed him to install a pier for access to the Chesapeake Bay; maintained my client’s privacy; and met the town’s needs for installation of flood control.

Dispute on Insurance Coverage on Boat Insurance

In Anne Arundel County, Maryland, we had a client whose boat had water enter into the core of his boat hull and eventually cause rot and damage.  When the boat was on jackstands at the marina, the hull partially crushed and required significant fiberglass and core repairs.  The client filed a claim under his hull insurance policy but surveys were inconclusive as to how the water entered the hull.  We filed suit asserting coverage under the all-risks policy of marine insurance, arguing that if the source of the water was not known, then none of the exclusions to the policy supported the denial of coverage.  We were unable to resolve the dispute through discussions with the adjuster, so we filed suit seeking a declaration of coverage.  Resolution was difficult and lengthy, but the client obtained money for repairs that he would not have had if he accepted the denial of coverage.

Dispute on failed erosion control project

Controlling erosion is a major issue for waterfront owners and waterfront communities, and the quality of contractors and erosion control projects is highly variable.  With new requirements preventing bulkheads and restricting hard shorelines, poor work can increase erosion or worse, leave large loose stones that can injure or even kill unsuspecting community members.  We recently obtained an insurance settlement to allow for reconstruction of a failed erosion control project on community land — the project was so bad that it required installation of “keep off” signs on the community’s main beach area as well as environmental citations against the contractor and a community board member.  Resolution required changing the way that the community’s erosion control funds were managed and contracts awarded, as well identifying appropriate experts to testify on the deficits with the project.  The Court’s intervention was required to determine significant related issues about the nature of the community’s land and covenants as well.  Perseverance was required — luckily it was a community that had leaders and community members that were willing to carry through with a difficult job to the end.

Dispute with Buyer and Broker in Boat Purchase Contract

One of the most interesting aspects of boat purchase/boat broker and boat tax cases is that they often involve many different states.  This case was no different.  The contract called for arbitration in New Jersey, where my client was located.  The boat was located and seat rialed in Tennessee.  The listing broker broker was in Alabama and the buyer was located (and the boat was delivered to) Illinois.  The buyer alleged that there were undisclosed problems with the boat and filed suit in Illinois (where he signed the contract).  Right away, the case involved the tension between arbitration and litigation; maritime and State common law; and the substantive law of multiple states — and all of that before getting to the question of whether the purchase contract’s terms protected my broker-client.  My client’s first questions to me concerned whether I was comfortable working across so many jurisdictional lines and areas of law.  Luckily those issues come up in most significant boat purchase disputes, and I had an idea of how to mitigate the issues of the Plaintiff having filed in Illinois.

This was a rare case in which there was an intense week of work preparing motions to dismiss or stay the action in Illinois.  We argued that the contract called for Arbitration in New Jersey, and that therefore the suit in Illinois could not go forward there.  Since there was some question about whether the arbitration clause would be enforced, we also argued that since boat was delivered to the purchaser in Tennessee, that was the appropriate State if the case was not going to be in New Jersey.  Ultimately we were able to reach a rapid resolution prior to the Court ruling on the motions.