home inspectors

Another Groundhog Day

Since our kids have grown into responsible adults and are no longer needing or wanting to be around us for longer than necessary, Lady Agag and I have been spending more of our time at the seaside, especially in the so-called shoulder seasons of May-June and September-October.

At the moment, we are half-way through what local meteorologists are calling “the best week of the year” weather-wise at the New Jersey shore. I cannot disagree. The temperature has been a very-tolerable-for-Irishmen eighty-ish and the humidity has been blessedly low every day so far and it is forecast to continue so. It’s a bit like Groundhog Day.
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Subrogation Claims Against Home Inspectors

To the ever expanding list of rent seekers that Home Inspectors have to fend off, please add insurance companies that have paid a first-party claim on behalf of a homeowner and then want to recover that payment from the home inspector through subrogation.

Subrogation is a legal concept whereby one party – the subrogee – succeeds to the rights of another – the subrogor – either by operation of law or by contract. The most familiar examples of this concept involve insurance companies that pay losses sustained by policyholders and then seek to recover those payments from tortfeasors that may be legally liable for the policyholder’s loss. The insurance company by virtue of its payment would succeed to the policyholder’s rights against the tortfeasor.

Thus, if an insurance company paid a collision loss on behalf of its policyholder who was not at fault in the accident, it can seek to recover that payment through subrogation from the driver who had actually caused the accident. Health insurance companies and workers compensation insurance companies who pay medical bills on behalf of their insureds will endeavor to recover those outlays from parties who may be legally responsible for causing their insureds’s injuries.
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Boxcars

There’s nothing like a birthday to drive home the point that life has stages: the Immortal Stage that lasts until about age 55 and the Mortal Stage where I am now gaining seniority at a breathtaking pace. Today, I am turning 66. A pair of sixes. Boxcars.

Ever since I became the Irish Patient, I’ve become much more conscious that life has limits. On length. It’s a depressing thought and one you need to let go of for your own sake, as well as the sake of others within your gravitational pull.

Fortunately, there are other spheres where life holds considerably fewer fixed limitations: happiness, job satisfaction, friendships, personal achievement, learning and the like.

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When Attorneys Amend Your Agreement

One of my home inspector clients contacted me the other day for advice on what to do about a prospect whose attorney had lined out in its entirety the portion of his Inspection Agreement that a. required binding arbitration and b. required claims to be brought within one-year of the inspection.

In his transmittal email to the inspector’s prospect, the attorney wrote the following: “The stuff below that I red-lined should be removed. I don’t have a problem for him not to be responsible for stuff he does not inspect. Any questions let me know.” Italics mine.

And I, for my part, do not have a problem with this lawyer lining out those two items, especially if the inspector can exact a higher inspection fee as a result. Here’s why.
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Destiny and Second Acts

Years ago, when I was a member of a boutique litigation firm in Philadelphia, my partners and I would often ponder the question “How did we get this case?” What led this client to choose this law firm for this legal matter? Not infrequently that inquiry would lead to a surprising answer. The true origin would often turn out to be several degrees removed. The prospect had been referred by an existing client who had, in turn, been referred by another client and so on. It was truly remarkable how frequently a huge and lucrative legal engagement could be traced back to a minor favor performed for a person in need.

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