Most evictions brought by landlords are resisted by tenants bringing counterclaims against the landlord. These counterclaims, whether they are successful or not, always delay the eviction and create significant additional legal fees and costs for the landlord. Too often a simple eviction turns into a prolonged litigation in court where the landlord is forced to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to defend the tenant’s counterclaims.
One way not to pay these costly legal fees is to have proper insurance coverage. Nearly all landlords have Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance. However, to have a claim for coverage when a tenant brings counterclaims relating to an eviction a landlord should have a CGL policy that covers wrongful eviction offenses. If a landlord has coverage for wrongful eviction offenses this creates a claim for coverage against an insurer to defend and indemnify against the tenant’s counterclaims. If an insurer accepts coverage, they must pay all legal fees and costs to defend the tenant’s counterclaims. This coverage not only saves a landlord thousands of dollars in legal fees, it also gives a landlord the necessary leverage to resolve the tenant’s claims and complete the eviction.
A landlord should insist their insurance agent include wrongful eviction coverage in their CGL policy. Additionally, a landlord should confirm in writing with an insurance agent that a CGL policy provides this coverage. Finally, a landlord should contact Matt Mozian at Campoli, Monteleone & Mozian, P.C. to review the insurance policy to confirm it covers wrongful eviction offenses.