News By Edition

Over the last several years, judges, prosecutors, police officers and others have voiced concerns about having their personal information in the public record. Legislatures have put various redaction legislation in place or permitted only specific people to access public records. What issues are arising and how can they be addressed?

The former president of a Texas title company requested reconsideration of a preliminary injunction barring the employee from being employed by her new employer and breaking the noncompete clause of her shareholder agreement. The company had filed suit against the employee and her new employer after the new employer had recruited several of the company’s senior employees.

The Federal Trade Commission announced a newly updated rule that strengthens the data security safeguards financial institutions are required to put in place to protect their customers’ financial information.

After filing a suit in small claims court against his insurer for failing to identify an outstanding lien on his property, a plaintiff filed another suit against the insurer for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing for failing to deliver an accurate title report. The trial court dismissed his complaint and he appealed.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate.

CoreLogic released its latest Mortgage Fraud Report. The report showed a 37.2 percent year-over-year increase in fraud risk at the end of the second quarter of 2021, as measured by the CoreLogic Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced new leadership at the Office of Supervision Policy and the Office of Enforcement.

When a man purchased property in Newark, N.J., he and his title company missed a mortgage the previous owner had placed on the property. The other lender filed a foreclosure action and the insured filed a claim with his insurer. While the foreclosure action was going through, the insured sold the property without informing the buyer of the foreclosure action. The buyer’s insurer addressed the foreclosure issue and sought reimbursement from the insured. It filed suit against the insured and the insured filed a third-party claim against his insurer.

When a man purchased property in Burnham, Ill., he discovered municipal tax lien assessments on the property from 1984 and 1985. His title agency challenged those liens before paying them. What happened after was a series of suits, including one the man brought against his title insurer for breach of contract.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed legislation that makes changes to the state’s foreclosure process, among other things. These changes will go into effect Jan. 1.

The Utah Insurance Department is considering amendments to two escrow rules, R592015, Schedule of Minimum Charges for Escrow Services, and R592-16, Escrow Settlement Closing Transactions. Comments on the amendments are being accepted until Dec. 15.

A federal district judge sent six South Florida residents and one New Jersey resident to federal prison for their roles in a fraud scheme that involved stealing identities, creating and using fake foreign passports, impersonating homeowners, and falsifying loan documents to trick lenders into providing millions of dollars of mortgage loans on unencumbered residential properties.

An Irving man pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He and others had devised a scheme that targeted financial institutions and real estate purchasers.

A fraudulent trustee’s deed upon sale caused a dispute about who had the first priority lien on property between the bank that held the original deed of trust that was covered by the trustee’s deed and the lender who loaned funds based on the trustee’s deed. The case eventually went before a California appellate court.

An insured filed suit against its insurer after the insurer denied a claim to indemnify the insured in a dispute between the insured and an adjacent property owner to quiet title to property both felt they owned based on the metes-and-bounds descriptions of their property.

The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner issued proposed rulemaking regarding out-of-state title records storage. Comments on the proposed rulemaking are due Nov. 29, 2021.

The New York State Assembly is considering a bill that would authorize Madison County, N.Y., to impose a tax on real estate transfers.

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced a new chief deputy commissioner.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) announced its newly launched remote testing for prospective insurance producers has accounted for 35 percent of all insurance producer exams since implementation.