Thor Chopko’s legal battle against a major title insurance company has reached a decisive conclusion, with the Arizona Court of Appeals affirming the dismissal of his complaint. On January 27, 2026, the court upheld the Maricopa County Superior Court’s decision to dismiss Chopko’s claims against Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and others. The case, filed under No. CV2024-011288 and CV2024-022404, revolved around allegations of breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligence, bad faith, and malicious prosecution.
The origins of this legal dispute trace back to October 2023 when Ihor Chopko sold his home in Phoenix. The sale fell through after an appraiser identified zoning violations and permit issues with the property. Believing he had title insurance coverage from Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, Chopko filed a claim but received no response. Frustrated by weeks of silence and reassurances over the phone that his claim was under review, he visited Fidelity’s office demanding answers. This confrontation led to police involvement; however, Chopko was neither arrested nor charged.
Chopko proceeded to sue Fidelity for various claims including breach of contract and malicious prosecution—arguing that calling the police constituted malicious intent. However, it emerged during proceedings that the title insurance policy in question was issued by Security Title Agency and Ticor Title Insurance Company—not Fidelity—and it explicitly excluded coverage for zoning law-related losses. Despite being allowed to amend his complaint three times, Chopko failed to establish any contractual relationship with Fidelity or present himself as a third-party beneficiary.
The superior court dismissed all claims due to lack of evidence supporting a direct contract between Chopko and Fidelity or any malicious prosecution since no criminal charges were filed against him following the office incident. As a result of these findings, Fidelity was awarded $10,332 in attorney fees along with $316.56 in costs as they were deemed the prevailing party in this contractual dispute.
In appealing these decisions, Chopko challenged both the dismissal of his lawsuit and the award of attorney fees to Fidelity under A.R.S § 12-341.01—a statute intended to mitigate litigation expenses when establishing just claims or defenses. Nonetheless, Vice Chief Judge David D. Weinzweig delivered an opinion affirming that there was no abuse of discretion by the lower court given reasonable evidence supported their fee award decision.
The appellate process also highlighted significant deficiencies in Chopko’s legal briefs which lacked proper citations to authority or record references—violations that could lead to sanctions if repeated.
Representing himself throughout this litigation was Thor Chopko while Brian J. Cosper from Fidelity National Law Group defended against these allegations on behalf of Fidelity National Title Insurance Company et al., before Judges Susanna C. Pineda (Superior Court), David D. Weinzweig (Vice Chief Judge), Michael J. Brown (Presiding Judge), and Veronika Fabian (Judge) presiding over appellate matters under Case ID No: 1 CA-CV 25-0431.
Source: 1CACV250431_Chopko_v_Fidelity_National_Title_Insurance_Company_Opinion_Arizona_Court_of_Appeals.pdf
