Real Property Law

In an action for breach of a title insurance policy, insured appealed from Supreme Court's grant of summary judgment to the title insurer. The Appellate Division affirmed, holding that the policy's exclusion for zoning regulations barred the insured's claim.

Insureds purchased the subject property, then used as a golf course, in 2006, and insurer issued a title insurance policy on the property. The policy excluded restrictions arising from zoning regulations. In 1997, the prior owner executed a declaration of covenants limiting development to 140 residential units. That declaration was filed as a condition of a zoning resolution providing that if a golf course were developed on the property, residential units would be limited to 140. In 2011, insureds brought this action for breach of the title insurance policy, contending that the declaration constituted an encumbrance on title. Supreme Court awarded summary judgment to the insurer.