News

Policyholders must carefully select their attorney in the world of first party insurance disputes.  Indeed, this is a specialized area, and not all lawyers possess the background and experience to navigate the precarious waters within first party practice.  A recent ZMF client, previously represented by other counsel, learned this lesson the hard way, experiencing years…

In many instances, underpayment of a claim is just as detrimental to a property owner as a complete denial.  Policyholders left with a small check, but without the ability to translate those funds into necessary repairs to their home or business.  Such was the case with a ZMF client who experienced a house fire.  Paid…

A family long suffering from storm-related losses to an expensive tile roof can finally complete all necessary repairs, after the attorneys at ZMF resolved the related insurance dispute prior to filing suit.  The owner of the residence, Seth Giertz, had battled his carrier for a year and a half prior to retaining counsel, and was…

Whether caused by hurricane, flood, vandalism, or theft, the losses suffered by residential and business owners to their property is very personal. But this loss is magnified incredibly in the event of a fire. A family owned restaurant chain learned this intimately when it lost its entire business after a fire ravaged Brent’s Beer & Burgers, a restaurant with locations throughout the country.

While states often lag behind the IRS in enforcement of IRS priority issues, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has begun to show an interest in looking deeper into captives owned by California residents. While the FTB has made no formal pronouncements about its intention (unlike the IRS, which has classified certain microcaptive transactions as…