Mortgage holder who forecloses after fire cannot also grab insurance proceeds
In a rare win for consumers in Michigan's courts, the Court of Appeals followed old precedent and ruled that Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. could not grab the $38,000.00 in insurance money owed by State Farm on a fire policy. Wells Fargo had already foreclosed on the property and sold it for $64,000.00. In doing so, under existing Michigan law, Wells Fargo extinguished its right to keep the insurance proceeds payable after the fire. We'll see how long this decision holds up, once Wells Fargo appeals to the current insurance-beholden Republican majority on Michigan's Supreme Court. They have shown no reluctance to overturn longstanding precedent where it will benefit their campaign benefactors.