New York Court Holds Public Adjuster Entitled to Fee Even Though Claim Settled After Ten Years Of Litigation

Disputes between the insured and its public adjuster (PA) are frequently contentious and have the unfortunate potential to draw the carrier into litigation.  A perfect example is last week’s decision in Public Adj. Bur., Inc. v. Greater N. Y. Mut. Ins. Co., et al., 2015 NY Slip OP 07942, 2015 WL 6510639, 2015 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8000 (N.Y.App.Div., Oct. 29, 2015), where New York’s intermediate level appellate court held that the PA was entitled to its fee for performing “valuable services” even though those evidently ceased when suit was filed and it then took an additional ten years of bitter and protracted litigation to bring about a settlement. While not as prolonged and torturous as Dickens’ Jarndyce v. Jarndyce,…