⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

A loan on an Ohio water park leads to a dispute over who should receive insurance money. Sinmier lent Vintro seven million dollars against the Maui Sands Resort and Waterpark. After water damage, Everest paid the property owner to settle an insurance claim, without including Sinmier. Vintro defaulted. Sinmier later accepted title to the property in a settlement that, in the district court's view, fully satisfied the mortgage debt. Sinmier says the insurance arrangements should have protected it as mortgagee, meaning the lender holding the mortgage, rather than merely as an additional insured for liability claims. It sued the insurer and insurance intermediaries. The district court ruled for Everest, EverSports and Bankers without a trial. That is summary judgment: a decision under the law when no genuine dispute over a fact material to the result requires a trial. Sinmier's lawyer, Matthew Henzi, will argue that coverage questions and separate negligence claims require further proceedings. Chris Yingling for Bankers and Daniel Gourash for Everest and EverSports will defend those judgments. The questions include whether Everest agreed to name Sinmier under the property coverage, and whether accepting the deed extinguished its insurance-related rights. A deed in lieu of foreclosure transfers the property to the lender instead of completing a foreclosure sale. A binder is temporary insurance coverage; a third-party beneficiary seeks to enforce a contract made for its benefit. You will also hear about the economic-loss rule, which generally bars negligence recovery for purely financial loss without an independent legal duty. The judges also ask whether Sinmier presented its arguments to the district court.

Sinmier, LLC v. Everest Indemnity Insurance Co., et al. (No. 25-4018) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, argued October 20, 2026.