Massachusetts Appeals Court distinguishes slander of title from slander

Wayne and Cynthia Robbins were sued for slander of title.  The underlying plaintiff alleged that they published false claims with respect to the ownership of land that was owned by him.

The Robbinses sought insurance coverage from their homeowner's insurer, Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Company.  Hingham declined to defend or indemnify, asserting that the policy did not provide coverage for slander of title.

In Robbins v. Hingham Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 1108, 2017 WL 729749 (unpublished), the Massachusetts Appeals Court agreed with Hingham.  It held that although the policy provides coverage for slander, slander of title is a different tort.  Slander encompasses "a publication of a false and defamatory statement by spoken words of and concerning the plaintiff."  Slander of title involves "disparagement of a person's title to real or personal property."

There's no good reason why slander of title shouldn't be a covered loss, as long as the standard exclusions apply.  Seems like its time to amend the personal injury coverage in homeowner's policies. 

Another plug for liability insurance

I participate in a large listserve for local parents. One of the recent threads concerned problems with cakes from a local bakery. There was a long discussion about whether it was okay to post the name of the bakery or if doing so would create the risk of a libel lawsuit. One of the posters responded that for an additional $8.00 a year she added a rider to her homeowner's policy providing coverage for slander and libel. (In insurance terms slander and libel generally come within what is called "personal injury" coverage, an entirely different coverage from "bodily injury" even though the two are synonymous in other contexts.)

Years ago I defended a couple who was sued when they publicly opposed a telephone sex company renting space in the mixed use commercial and residential condominium building where they lived. After several years of litigation they not only prevailed but were awarded their attorney's fees. Had they not had personal injury insurance, however, the process could easily have bankrupted them or forced them into an unfair settlement.

Liability insurance provides not only indemnity (payment of damages to the claimant after the insured loses at trial or settles the case) but also defense, which is sometimes called lawsuit insurance. Because there is always a risk of being sued even when you have done nothing wrong, having such insurance can save you from the tens of thousands of dollars it can cost simply to have a groundless lawsuit dismissed.