Triple Props. Detroit, LLC v. First Am. Title Ins. Co.

── Triple Props. Detroit, LLC v. First Am. Title Ins. Co. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0176n.06 Case No. 25-1986 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 17, 2026 KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) TRIPLE PROPERTIES DETROIT, LLC, ) Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT v. ) COURT FOR THE EASTERN ) ) DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE ) COMPANY, ) OPINION Defendant-Appellee. ) Before: STRANCH, BLOOMEKATZ, and HERMANDORFER, Circuit Judges. HERMANDORFER, Circuit Judge. In 2011, Triple Properties Detroit, LLC purchased undeveloped units that were part of a condominium-development project. But Triple knew its title came with a March 2014 deadline to either (1) complete development or (2) withdraw any undeveloped units from the project. If Triple failed to do so, its title to the units would revert to the condominium association. That transfer of title came to pass when the early-2014 deadline came and went without Triple acting to protect its interest in the units. Still, Triple later purported to sell the units to a third-party buyer. Litigation ensued, and Triple sought defense coverage from its title insurer, First American Title Insurance Company. First American denied Triple’s claim as falling within a policy exclusion. Disagreeing, Triple filed its own suit against First American for breach of contract. The district court granted summary judgment to First American. We affirm. No. 25-1986, Triple Props. Detroit, LLC v. First Am. Title Ins. Co. I Westminster Abbey Homes, LLC executed a Master Deed for the Richard Rowhouses Condominium Project (the Project) in 2003. Relevant here, the Master Deed contained language tracking a then-operative provision of Michigan’s Condominium Act, Mich. Comp. Laws § 559.167(3). The clause at issue stated that “if the Developer has not completed” construction of the entire Project “during a period ending 10 years from the date of commencement or construction by the Developer of the Project, the Developer, its successors, or assigns have the right to withdraw from the Project all undeveloped portions of the Project.” Master Deed, R.28-2, PageID 614. The Master Deed continued: “If the Developer does not withdraw the undeveloped portions of the Project from the Project before the expiration of the time periods, such lands shall remain part of the Project as General Common Elements and all rights to construct Units upon that land shall cease.” Id. Put simply, any developer’s rights in remaining undeveloped units, if not completed or withdrawn from the Project within a 10-year period, were to revert to the Richard Rowhouses Condominium Association (the Association). On March 16, 2004, Westminster filed a notice that it was beginning development on the Project—thus starting the 10-year clock. After Westminster defaulted on a mortgage in 2008, Bank of America, N.A. acquired title to the 14 undeveloped units via a sheriff’s