News By Edition

We won’t just be voting for president this year. In five states, citizens will be determining who will run their insurance regulators. Read on to meet the candidates in Montana, Delaware, North Carolina, Washington, and North Dakota.

After a couple failed to make payments under a loan modification, the assignee of the note and mortgage filed a foreclosure action and eventually a motion for summary judgment. The couple questioned the authority of the assignee to foreclose and appealed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment. Read on for more details.

The Minnesota Legislature passed legislation permitting video conferencing to satisfy the requirement to appear personally before a notarial officer for certain conveyances. The bill was introduced on Oct. 12 and presented to the governor on Oct. 16. Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a final rule to extend the Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) patch until the mandatory compliance date of a final rule amending the General Qualified Mortgage (QM) loan definition in Regulation Z. Read on for more details.

After a case was filed, but before defendants were served, one of the defendants moved the case from state court to federal court, alleging it was a fraudulently joined. The plaintiff then moved to remand the case back to state court. Read on for more details.

Noting an increase in telework from hotels, the FBI issued a public service announcement regarding the cybersecurity risk this could pose for guests. Read on for more details.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) issued a consumer alert about a company fraudulently posing as a California escrow company. Read on for more details.

A title insurer sued its agent after it satisfied its obligation to a lender under a title policy after a mortgage was cancelled. It alleged breach of duty, breach of guaranty and indemnification. The agent then counterclaimed for fraud, alleging that the insurer was limited to escrow funds and did not include the claims sought. Read on for more details.

A title insurer filed a motion to set aside a judgment against it in a declaratory judgment suit to determine the enforceability of a settlement agreement between participants in a development. While the other insurer in the case appealed immediately, the current movant did not file its motion to set aside the judgment until years later. Read on for more details.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services issued a bulletin rescinding a former bulletin that established a temporary producer licensing program. The rescission is effective Oct. 22. Read on for more details.

The Alabama Department of Insurance announced the appointment of a new deputy insurance commissioner, succeeding the former deputy commissioner who left for the private sector. Read on for more details.

A Long Island real estate attorney pled guilty to stealing more than $350,000 from his clients, including approximately $300,000 from an elderly victim. Read on for more details.

After his ex-wife refused to provide him with his share of the proceeds from the sale of their home, a man sued his real estate broker and the title company that conducted the sale, alleging they deceived him during the transaction. Read on for more details.

After being sued for breach of contract and bad faith, a title insurer moved to compel arbitration, as outlined in the title policy. When the trial court didn’t compel arbitration of the bad faith claim, the title insurer appealed. Read on for more details.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued an executive order extending several prior orders, including its remote notarization order, through Jan. 26, 2021. Read on for more details.

After a court determined he did not own the rights to the driveway accessing his property, leaving him with worthless property, the property owner attempted both to modify the loan and to short sell the property. When the lender did not work with him on either avenue, the property owner filed suit twice. Each case was dismissed, and the owner filed suit a third time. Read on for more details.

The Alabama Department of Insurance issued a bulletin regarding producer, adjuster, and title insurance agent licensing issues in light of the COVID-19 emergency. Read on for more details.

A Henderson, Nev., man admitted his role in a scheme to use bogus information and simultaneous loan applications at multiple banks – known as “shot-gunning” – to attempt to obtain home equity lines of credit. Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken steps it says will provide clearer rules of the road, publishing guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on RESPA Section 8 and rescinding Compliance Bulletin 2015-05, RESPA Compliance and Marketing Service Agreements. Read on for more details.

After discovering that their property was landlocked without right of way, the property owners sought coverage from their title insurer. When the insurer denied coverage, the owners sued the parties to the title policy, including the agent that issued it. They argued that the agent negligently procured the policy for them because it knew the property was landlocked and failed to inform the insurer. Read on for more details.

As part of ongoing efforts to modernize insurance licensing, save money and remove barriers that hinder the Volunteer State’s economy, the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance announced a system upgrade that will create a more paperless insurance licensing process. Read on for more details.

A Greenville, S.C., couple was sentenced to time in prison and ordered to pay back more than $2.5 million after a jury found them guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and equity skimming. Read on for more details.

The Nebraska Department of Insurance has extended the waiver of proctor requirements for continuing education self-study online courses until the end of the year. Read on for more details.