News By Edition

A Florida title agency sought coverage under its cyber insurance policy’s cybercrime endorsement after it became the victim of wire fraud. The claim was denied, and the agency filed suit. Both parties eventually moved for summary judgment.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a report on ransomware trends in Bank Secrecy Act reporting filed between January and June 2021. The report was issued pursuant to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and shows ransomware is an increasing threat.

The California General Assembly adopted legislation that makes unenforceable against an affordable housing development any restrictive covenant that restricts the number or size of the residences that may be built on a property.

In Seller/Servicer Guide Bulletin 2021-31, Freddie Mac addressed revisions to seller/servicer and related third-party risk mitigation requirements and updates to its lost note affidavit requirements, among other things.

The Texas Department of Insurance issued bulletin B-0028-21, a mandatory data call requiring title insurers and agents to submit business data for the year 2020.

A Jackson, Miss., man pled guilty to a charge of retaliating against a federal employee by filing a false lien.

A company sued a title insurer, alleging that it breached a title policy by failing to indemnify the company in a related action concerning a land dispute. The insurer had denied coverage, arguing that the company was not an insured under the policy. The parties eventually filed cross motions for summary judgment.

A bipartisan group of representatives introduced the bipartisan Establishing Risks to Security (ENABLERS) Act, designed to close loopholes that kleptocrats from around the world use to launder money in the United States. Among other things, it would require the Treasury secretary to promulgate a rule requiring domestic title insurance companies to report to the secretary information on the beneficial owners of entitles that purchase or sell residential or commercial real estate in transactions in which the domestic title insurance company is involved.

The Massachusetts General Court is considering legislation to authorize the town of Nantucket, Mass., to impose a real estate transfer fee for affordable and workforce housing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced leadership changes within the Bureau. The positions being announced are: deputy director; associate director for Consumer Education & External Affairs; chief of staff; and chief technologist.

The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s office named a new director of the Insurance Fraud Bureau, who will also be promoted to assistant state fire marshal.

A suburban Chicago businessman who schemed with an attorney and two others to sell millions of dollars in phony mortgages has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

A title company and its errors and omissions insurer dispute a duty to defend the title company in a putative class action in state court. The insurer filed suit against the title company, seeking a declaration it did not owe a duty to defend the title company in the class action suit.

In a case stemming from the failure of a mixed-use real estate development project because of an overlooked beneficiary of a recorded access easement, the property owner and its investors filed suit against, among others, the title insurer. They alleged claims of contribution and indemnity, which had been assigned to them by the closing attorneys to the transaction.

A report by Global Financial Integrity on money laundering in the United States found more than $2.3 billion was laundered through U.S. real estate over a recent five-year period and commercial real estate is involved in many of those transactions.

A man loaned friends $100,000 as a down payment to purchase their ranch in Big Horn County, Wyo., with the understanding he would get a lien on the property, but without a written record of that fact. When the couple defaulted and the mortgagee foreclosed, the man filed suit against the bank, arguing his loan had priority over the mortgage and that the lender had notice of his lien.

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Birrane has named a director of fiscal services for the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA).

The County of Marin, Calif., is taking steps to mitigate fraudulent real estate transfers with a new program that notifies property owners when documents have been filed about an ownership transfer.

A federal court in California dismissed a cybersecurity lawsuit a pension fund filed against a title insurer that had reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the cybersecurity incident.

The Virginia Bureau of Insurance issued an informational letter regarding the prohibition against rebating and legislative amendments to statutory remedies. It addresses inquiries regarding whether a settlement agent may reduce their fee to obtain business.

After the heirs of property owners in Montana discovered there was no legal access to the subject property, they filed a claim with the title insurer. The insurer denied the claim, arguing that because the property owners had transferred their interests in the property to irrevocable trusts, the property was no longer covered by the policy. The heirs filed suit.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the launch of the department’s Civil Cyberfraud Initiative, which will combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyberthreats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.

A Fort Meyers, Fla., man was arrested for his role in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme. He was charged with violating Florida’s mortgage loan and loan originator laws, communications fraud, filing false documents against real property, and mortgage fraud.

A title insurer filed a motion for a federal court to reconsider part of its order finding it was not entitled to summary judgment in the case the holder of a title policy holder filed against the insurer seeking the $10 million policy limit. The policy holder had lost title and interests in the property after the title insurer denied coverage.