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Texas organization forms to change title regulation
Posted Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
A new organization has launched in Texas to “press Texas lawmakers to embrace public policy, tax, and regulations that advance continued job creation, investment, and competition,” specifically attempting to change regulations of the title insurance industry. Read on for more details.
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Cybersecurity commission releases report
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Earlier this year, President Obama put together a Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity and tasked its members with providing a report of actionable recommendations for securing and growing the digital economy by strengthening cybersecurity. The commission presented its final report Dec. 1. Read on for more details.
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Georgia Supreme Court postpones decision
Posted Date: Monday, November 21, 2016
The Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case to determine whether a plaintiff property owner who alleges that he is no longer a debtor because the security deed on his property has been cancelled has standing to challenge an alleged assignment of the security deed. Based on concessions made to the court, the court decided to postpone its decision on that matter. Read on for more details.
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Federal court sends case back to state
Posted Date: Monday, November 21, 2016
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana recently remanded a case back to the state court’s jurisdiction. The parties to the suit, a home purchaser and title underwriter, disagreed about whether the case met the jurisdictional threshold to be moved to federal court. Read on for more details.
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Couple appeals ruling in favor of developers
Posted Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2016
A couple who bought property in Hawaii looked to terminate their sales contract after what they called “material changes,” including the increase of construction loan financing and a mechanic’s lien application filing against the developers. The trial court dismissed all claims from the couple, which appealed the ruling and the $249,000 judgment issued against it. Read on for details from the appellate ruling.
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OCC releases bulletin on cybersecurity rulemaking
Posted Date: Monday, November 28, 2016
In OCC bulletin 2016-41, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency highlighted aspects of the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on enhanced cyberrisk management standards that was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 26. Read on for more details from the bulletin.
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Virginia may eliminate eRecording fee
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
When it comes back in January, the Virginia General Assembly will consider a bill that would eliminate a provision allowing clerks to charge a fee to record real estate documents electronically, and instead allow clerks to record a fee for filing paper land records. Read on for more details.
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New Jersey considers change to statute
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The New Jersey Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit nonresidents from receiving title insurance producer licenses unless they had a direct affiliation or business relationship in the state. Read on for more details.
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Missouri may eliminate nonjudicial foreclosures
Posted Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
When the legislative session starts, the Missouri General Assembly will consider legislation that would eliminate nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings in the state. Read on for more details.
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Colorado to hold hearing on regulatory changes
Posted Date: Monday, December 12, 2016
On Jan. 3, The Colorado Division of Insurance will hold a hearing on two proposed title regulations regarding fiduciary duties and agent licensing. These are the last two regulations separated out from what will be former Regulation 3-5-1. Read on for more details.
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Colorado warns of wire fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The Colorado Division of Real Estate at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) warns Colorado consumers to beware of a national cyberscam currently taking place that steals money directly from homebuyers and sellers. Read on for more details.
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Wyoming issues memo on record retention
Posted Date: Monday, December 5, 2016
The Wyoming Department of Insurance issued guidance on what is considered sufficient to comply with the requirements of Wyoming’s statute regarding underwriting standards and record retention for the title industry. Read on for more details.
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eRecording continues forward, not there yet
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
The ability to electronically record documents into the public record is something that has been making its way to each state and recording jurisdiction. According to Property Records Industry Association, as of Sept. 30, 1,547 recording districts were eRecording. Read on for more about the state of eRecording, and download our subscriber-exclusive special report The Legal World of eClosings for more.
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Maryland reaffirms position on notaries
Posted Date: Monday, December 5, 2016
The Maryland Insurance Administration released a bulletin reaffirming its position on notaries who participate in real estate closings and settlements. Read on for more details about its position.
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Risk index reveals decrease, north/south divide
Posted Date: Monday, December 5, 2016
First American Financial Corp. released the First American Loan Application Defect Index for October 2016, which estimates the frequency of defects, fraudulence and misrepresentation in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications. The index revealed the defect index decreased in October 2016, but also noted a divide between northern and southern state’s indexes.
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South Carolina bill addresses voidable transactions
Posted Date: Monday, January 2, 2017
South Carolina’s General Assembly will consider a bill amending the code of laws to enact the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act. The bill is designed to strengthen creditor protections by providing remedies for certain transactions by a debtor that are unfair to creditors. Read on for the details.
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Barclays execs charged in mortgage fraud
Posted Date: Monday, January 2, 2017
Two former Barclays executives have been charged, along with the bank and several of its U.S. affiliates, in a fraudulent scheme to sell residential mortgage-backed securities supported by defective and misrepresented mortgage loans, the Justice Department announced. Read on for more details.
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Texas files bill to change title rate structure
Posted Date: Friday, December 23, 2016
The Texas Legislature will consider a bill in 2017 that could change the structure of the rate-setting system for title insurance in the state. Read on for more details.
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Texans charged with foreclosure rescue scheme
Posted Date: Friday, December 23, 2016
A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment charging four individuals with felony offenses stemming from a “foreclosure rescue scheme” they ran from approximately February 2012 through January 2013, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
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Maryland to consider notice of foreclosure sale bill
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2016
The Maryland General Assembly will consider a bill requiring anyone authorized to make a foreclosure sale to give written notice of the sale to condominium or homeowners association. It also would require that a trustee, after the postponement or cancellation of a foreclosure sale, to send a notice that the sale was postponed or canceled to the record owner of the property and condominium or homeowners association. Read on for more details.
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Nevada to consider own Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
Posted Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
The state of Nevada will consider its own Servicemembers Civil Relief Act when its legislative session starts in January. The federal bill prohibits any action filed during or within one year after a servicemember’s period of military service to enforce an obligation on real property owned by the servicemember. With the period of protection under the federal law ending after 2017, Nevada legislators introduced legislation to grant that same period of protection currently provided under federal law.
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Florida title manager pleads guilty to conspiracy
Posted Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
A Pensacola Beach, Fla., man pled guilty to 13 felony counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and/or mail fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of false statement to a federally insured financial institution, nine counts of money laundering, and two counts of theft, embezzlement or misapplication by a person connected with a financial institution. Read on for more details.
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Bank claims entitlement to title coverage after assignment
Posted Date: Monday, December 19, 2016
A bank appealed a Pennsylvania trial court’s granting of judgment on the pleadings in favor of a title insurer in the bank’s suit for coverage under a title insurance policy after it was assigned a mortgage from the original lender. The bank claimed that the owners and other parties to the original sale were defrauded by the settlement agent after it was discovered that a prior mortgage on the property was not satisfied. Read on for more details.
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Parties to title settlement argue jurisdiction
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
After a trial court ordered a $750,000 judgment against parties who defaulted on the terms of a settlement agreement with a national title insurance company, the parties argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the judgment. Read on for more details.
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MERS recording ruled ‘presumptively deceptive’
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
In a Washington lawsuit centered around ownership of a mortgage note and deed of trust, the plaintiff appealed summary judgment against her. In looking at the plaintiff’s claim of violations of the state Consumer Protection Act, the Court of Appeals of Washington determined that the assignment which characterized Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) as having a beneficial interest in the deed was presumptively deceptive. Was that enough for the court to overturn summary judgment in favor of MERS? Read on for the details.
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Maryland announces new insurance leadership
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, Jr. announced three senior level appointments at the Maryland Insurance Administration. Read on for more details on the new appointees.
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NAIC gets new leadership
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has announced a new CEO will begin work in early 2017. It also noted that its members appointed new officers, who also will begin in early 2017. Read on for more details.
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New York announces consumer bill of rights for foreclosures
Posted Date: Monday, December 12, 2016
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced the Department of Financial Services has published a Consumer Bill of Rights for New Yorkers facing foreclosure. Additionally, DFS has also finalized a regulation protecting communities from the blight of “zombie properties” by requiring banks and mortgage servicers to report and maintain vacant and abandoned properties.
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Court weighs default involving ‘predatory’ mortgage
Posted Date: Monday, December 12, 2016
In a California case, a pro se plaintiff alleged that his lender sold him a house he could not afford to pay, making him a target for a “predatory home mortgage” that eventually “forced (him) into bankruptcy.” In the first amended complaint, the district court weighed whether to grant motions to dismiss from the lender and the title insurance company. Read on for the details.
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Pro se appeal baffles Montana court
Posted Date: Monday, December 12, 2016
After a district court ruled against him because the plaintiff “had not presented a single genuine issue of material fact,” he appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. While trying to examine the pro se allegations, the supreme court said they were “stated so generally that we cannot determine which acts comprise the nine elements of fraud.” Read on for more details.
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New Mexico AG announces lawsuit for real estate scheme
Posted Date: Monday, December 12, 2016
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced that he filed a lawsuit against Jesus Cano for an alleged real estate contract and mortgage scheme involving potentially hundreds of victims and properties in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia counties. Read on for more details.
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Accountant sentenced for $1.4 million fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
A Maryland accountant was sentenced to time in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving the fraudulent purchase of seven properties in Baltimore. Read on for more details.
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Five charged with conspiracy, wire fraud
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Five individuals have been charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud in connection with a debt-elimination scheme to defraud homeowners and banks. Read on for more details.
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Iowa insurance commissioner resigns
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart announced his resignation effective Dec. 23, 2016. Read on for more about the familiar face who will replace him.
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Insurer seeks to compel agent to arbitrate
Posted Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
A title insurer sought to compel its attorney agent in South Carolina to arbitrate a dispute regarding a claim the underwriter paid out to an insured where the agent had acted on the underwriter’s behalf. Read on for more details.
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