Insights

The Upcoming 7th Revision to the Title Insurance Rate Service Association (TIRSA) Rate Manual is effective on October 1, 2024. What is TIRSA? The Title Insurance Rate Service Association (TIRSA) is an organization licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services that provides guidelines for the pricing and availability of title insurance premiums and products in New York State. Since 1993, TIRSA has published, and revised, its TIRSA Rate Manual, which sets forth rules, definitions, risk classifications, premiums and rates for title insurance policies, endorsements and other forms used by members of TIRSA.

Michael L. Webb

A Gift Horse with Rotten Teeth: When Equity Bequests Violate Transfer Restrictions or Buy-Sell Agreements

How often do hopeful beneficiaries of a last will and testament expect to receive what they think will be a valuable bequest of a business interest, only to find their joy turn to despair when they discover the bequest violates a buy-sell agreement or transfer restriction in the business’s governing instrument?

Franklin C. McRoberts

Rattling the Attorney-Client Privilege Cage – A Lesson in Avoiding Waiver of Privilege under the Common-Interest Doctrine

In many cases, clients tend to place their trust, and often their livelihood, in the hands of their attorney. This expectation can be easily traced back to the attorney-client privilege, one of the oldest common-law privileges for confidential communications. In some instances, the attorney-client privilege may extend to third parties under the common-interest doctrine, which “is an exception to the traditional rule that the presence of a third party, not an agent or employee of counsel, at a communication between counsel and a client is sufficient to deprive the communication of the confidentiality which is one of the pillars of the privilege.”

James R. Maguire

The New York State Assembly’s Real Property Taxation Committee Proposes the Five Borough Fair Property Tax Act

An earlier Tax Tracker discussed the NYS Court of Appeals decision that revived a lawsuit brought by the Tax Equity Now (TENNY) coalition, which claims that New York City’s property tax system violates the federal Fair Housing Act because it disproportionately burdens low-income communities, among other things.

Michael P. Guerriero