News By Edition

The American Land Title Association, Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors created a model emergency notarization order, an effort to create uniformity and provide legal certainty for the use of remote notarizations. They encouraged state advocates to use the model order, as well as a draft request letter and one-pager where appropriate in their states. Read on for more details.

Weeks after issuing a bulletin to title industry members on the topic, Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Birrane issued a consumer advisory, reminding consumers that they have a right to choose their settlement agent and title insurer. Read on for more details.

The Oregon Legislature adopted legislation that would allow notaries to perform notarial acts using communication technology for remotely located individuals until June 30, 2021. Read on for more details.

CertifID issued a national fraud alert, noting that special circumstances surrounding the July 4 holiday may present a higher risk of wire fraud loss. Read on for more details.

As part of its Coronavirus Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia passed a provision allowing for the use of remote notarizations. Read on for more details.

The Illinois General Assembly adopted legislation that, among other things would extend the statute creating the Notarization Task Force on Best Practices and Verification Standards to Implement Electronic Notarization for another year. Read on for more details.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, holding that the single-director structure is currently unconstitutional. Industry experts and associations shared their reactions to the ruling. Read on for more details.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) developed principles for notarizations conducted remotely. Read on for more details.

After the apartment building she purchased was lost to foreclosure because of the seller’s misappropriation of her payments, the purchaser sued the title insurer and title guaranty company, alleging they colluded with the seller to defraud her. Read on for more details.

The Californians for Consumer Privacy announced that a new ballot measure, the California Privacy Rights Act has qualified for the November 2020 Ballot. Read on for more details.

The Hawaii Legislature is considering legislation that would require a mandatory seller disclosure in residential real property transactions identifying property within the sea level rise exposure area as officially designated by the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission or its successor. Read on for more details.

The former Milwaukee County register of deeds was charged with wire fraud for defrauding county. Read on for more details.

The Texas Supreme Court recently was asked to determine whether a special warranty deed conveying property limits the grantor’s liability for allegedly breaching the implied covenant of seisin — the covenant that the grantor owned the property being conveyed. Read on for more details.

The owners of property sued their title insurer for coverage of a longstanding dispute with the owner of adjacent land, who had once sought to purchase their tract of land instead of them. The insurer had argued that the disputes were excluded from coverage. Read on for more details.

The Colorado General Assembly passed the Remote Notaries Protect Privacy Act and it has been sent to Gov. Jared Polis for his signature. Read on for more details

The California Legislature is considering legislation amending the state’s law regarding foreclosure sales. Read on for more details.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have sent warning letters to six companies that may be misleading small businesses seeking SBA loans as a result of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic. Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interim final rule (IFR) that will make it easier for consumers to transition out of financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and easier for mortgage servicers to assist those consumers. Read on for more details.

The Court of Appeals of Texas, San Antonio, recently remanded a lawsuit by Title Source Inc., now known as Amrock, against HouseCanary Inc. for a new trial on HouseCanary’s misappropriation of trade secrets and fraud claims. Amrock had sued HouseCanary for breach of contract and fraud, and HouseCanary countersued for breach of contract, fraud,and other charges. Read on for more details.

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) reintroduced legislation to change the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from a single director to a bipartisan commission of five individuals. After the announcement was made, several industry associations — including the American Escrow Association, American Land Title Association, Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors — wrote a letter applauding her efforts. Read on for more details.

During a recent hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy on Cybercriminals and Fraudsters: How Bad Actors Are Exploiting the Financial System During the COVID-19 Pandemic, committee members discussed a discussion draft of legislation by Sen. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), the Internet Fraud Prevention Act. The bill was applauded by the American Land Title Association. Read on for more details.

Solicitor General of the United States Noel Francisco announced his departure from the Department of Justice, effective as of July 3, 2020. Among the cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court was Seila Law v. CFPB. Read on for more details.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Laws related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read on for more details.

A Monmouth County, N.J., woman admitted her role in a scheme to defraud a financial institution of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Read on for more details.