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Cuomo announces regulations to crackdown on title insurance kickbacks
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new regulations to crack down on kickbacks and other improper expenditures (such as excessive meal and entertainment expenses) in the title insurance industry. He states the regulations will reduce title insurance closing costs by up to 20 percent for new home purchases and up to 60 percent for refinancing transactions. The regulations are based on a Department of Financial Services investigation which uncovered that these practices significantly inflate title insurance premiums. Read on for more details.
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Can a CPL breach be brought independent of title insurance?
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Can a party bring a breach of a closing protection letter after it has given up its rights under the title insurance policy? This is a question a national underwriter wants the U.S. Supreme Court to answer, according to its petition for writ of certiorari. The underwriter argues that the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals was wrong when it held that the prudential standing principles barred First American from raising the assignment from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to a successor bank. Read on for more details.
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Insured, insurer dispute attorney fees
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2015
After litigating a leasehold dispute with the owners of the parking garage it managed, the insured sued its title insurer for not paying the attorney’s fees for the work done before the insurer-appointed attorney took over the case. Read on for more details.
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Insureds, title insurer debate claim over unpaid taxes
Posted Date: Monday, January 12, 2015
After a church defaulted on a loan, the people who lent the money for property in Houston foreclosed on the property and purchased the property at a foreclosure auction. Shortly thereafter, a tax collection suit was filed against them. They filed a claim with their title insurer, which the title insurer denied. They then sued the title insurer for negligence and breach of contract.
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Title insurance bill introduced in Congress
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
A bill regarding the cost of title insurance has been introduced in Congress. The bill amends RESPA to address what the sponsor calls conflicted referral advice, which he says will ensure that homebuyers are not overcharged when purchasing title insurance. Read on for more details.
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FHFA reiterates position on super-priority liens
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Four months after issuing its initial statement regarding super-priority homeowners association liens, and just weeks after testifying before a Nevada Senate committee regarding amendments the state plans to its statute allowing HOAs to have super-priority lien status, the Federal Housing Finance Agency issued another statement regarding HOA super-priority.
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Massachusetts introduces Reliable Land Title Act
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The Massachusetts legislature has introduced the Reliable Land Title Act, designed to ensure reliable land title to bolster local home ownership and business creation. Read on for more details.
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Texas may amend escrow licensing law
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The Texas Legislature is considering a bill that would amend the state’s escrow officer licensing statute. Read on for more details.
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Montana, Wyoming amend data breach laws
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
The legislatures in Montana and Wyoming have amended their states’ data breach laws, updating the states’ definitions of personal information that is subject to breach notifications. Read on for more details.
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CFPB, Maryland insurance department, go after title agent for kickbacks
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Months after filing an enforcement action against Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for a mortgage kickback scheme their loan officers participated in, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Maryland Attorney General filed suit against the title company they worked with and its executives. Read on for more details.
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NAIC releases principles for cybersecurity regulation
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The Cybersecurity Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners adopted the Principles for Effective Cybersecurity Insurance Regulatory Guidance. They are designed to guide regulators on how to regulate cybersecurity and be a foundation for protecting sensitive consumer information. Read on for more details.
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PRIA approves indexing best practices
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
The Board of Directors of the Property Records Industry Association (PRIA) has given final approval to the Best Practices: Indexing Names & Parties paper produced by the Business Processes and Procedures Committee.
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NS3 Preview: Celebrated RESPA attorney to discuss TRID-readiness
Posted Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Phillip Schulman, a partner at K&L Gates, LLP, will explain the background of the Truth-in-Lending Act Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure (TRID) forms and regulations at the 2015 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Atlanta, June 8-10.
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NS3 Preview: Former congressman to discuss political landscape
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
At the 2015 National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), Steve Bartlett, a former congressman and a senior advisor with Treliant Risk Advisors, will discuss how the political landscape in Washington, D.C. may shape future changes to the Dodd-Frank Act and RESPA compliance. Read on for insight into his session, titled “Inside the Beltway: Regulatory and Political Outlook.”
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Connecticut woman sentenced for mortgage conspiracy
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
A Connecticut woman was sentenced for her role in an extensive mortgage fraud conspiracy. She submitted fraudulent mortgage documents to lenders to purchase nearly 50 houses in the state. Read on for more details.
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Massachusetts gets new commissioner
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development announced Daniel R. Judson as commissioner of insurance, in the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations (OCABR).
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California escrow officer, developer indicted for mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
An escrow officer and developer from Placer County, Calif., were indicted for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme to defraud lenders in large commercial real estate transactions that went on for four years. Read on for more details.
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DOJ sues Quicken for improper underwriting practices
Posted Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Days after Quicken Loans Inc. filed a suit against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development about allegations of misdeeds, the United States has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Quicken Loans under the False Claims Act for improperly originating and underwriting mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Justice Department announced.
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Does insurer owe coverage of unauthorized settlement?
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
After a title insurer paid out millions in claims regarding a real estate fraud claim, it got into a dispute with the owners of property allegedly bought with proceeds from a fraudulent sale it insured. It sought coverage from its liability insurer, but rejected its insurer’s defense because it came with a reservation of rights. The parties to the dispute entered into a settlement enforceable against the liability insurer on the title insurer’s behalf. The liability insurer then filed suit against all parties to the agreement.
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Mortgage broker fraudster sentenced
Posted Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2015
A Staten Island man was sentenced to seven years in a New Jersey state prison for stealing from a pair of homeowners by posing as a mortgage broker. Read on for more details.
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California loan officer indicted for mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Mark F. Friend, 60, of Stockton, Calif., charging him with six counts of bank fraud relating to a mortgage fraud scheme.
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Tennessee considers HOA lien
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would establish the Tennessee Homeowners Association Act. Among other things, the act would establish a lien for the association’s unpaid assessments. Read on for more details.
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Kentucky adopts new law regarding retained liens
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
The Kentucky Legislature has adopted a bill that prevents county clerks or their deputies from recording mortgages or deeds with retained liens unless either document explicitly refers to the next immediate source of title for which the mortgagee or grantee derived title to the property or the interest being encumbered. Read on for more details.
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Quicken Loans sues DOJ, HUD for false accusations, improper investigation
Posted Date: Monday, April 20, 2015
Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest Federal Housing Administration mortgage lender, filed suit in Federal District Court against the United States Department of Justice and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The company filed the complaint after the DOJ demanded Quicken Loans make public admissions that were blatantly false, as well as pay an inexplicable penalty or face legal action. Read on for the details.
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