I. FLORIDA STATE CASES – JOURDAN HAYNES

• FDCPA & FCCPA/Bad Faith Filing: circuit court acting in appellate capacity obliged to affirm county court judgment awarding attorneys’ fees as sanction for bad faith filing of FDCPA and FCCPA action where no transcripts of proceedings in record to determine factual basis for bad faith finding and, thus, record inadequate to show reversible error – Kass Shuler, P.A. v Barchard, No. 2D13-59 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 23, 2013) (petition granted in part; denied in part)
• Statute of Limitations: declaratory relief action against property owners association did not accrue, for purposes of five-year statute of limitations, until plaintiff obtained title to property subject to the association – Harris v. Aberdeen Property Owners Assoc., Inc., No. 2D13-59 (Fla. 4th DCA Aug. 21, 2013) (reversing summary final judgment)

II. 11TH CIRCUIT CASES – LAUREN SEMBLER

• RESPA: RESPA does not require a loan servicer to provide information in response to a borrower’s Qualified Written Request concerning loan validity – Smith v. Bank of Am. Home Loans, No. 2:11-cv-00676-JES-DNF (M.D. Fla. Aug. 13, 2013) (granting defendant’s motion to dismiss)

III. TITLE INSURANCE CASES - CHRIS SMART

• Policy Interpretation: even though final title insurance policy was issued without jacket containing standard exclusions, standard exclusions from coverage and conditions and stipulations on jacket were part of policy – M&F Bank v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., No. 1111525 (Ala. Aug. 16, 2013) (affirming grant of cross summary judgments)
• Tort Claims: paragraph 14 of title insurance policy’s standard conditions and stipulations precludes negligence claims – M&F Bank v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., No. 1111525 (Ala. Aug. 16, 2013) (affirming grant of cross summary judgments)
• Marketability: where property can be identified and insurer establishes title to property and lien of mortgage on property, property is marketable and insurer has fulfilled its obligations to insured, even though property not platted as referenced in mortgage and title insurance policy – M&F Bank v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., No. 1111525 (Ala. Aug. 16, 2013) (affirming grant of cross summary judgments)
• Abstractor: where insureds request title insurance commitment and title insurance policy and fail to request abstract of title and insurer never agrees to prepare abstract, insurer is not an abstractor and cannot be liable as an abstractor and liability of insurer, if any, is based on policy – Walker v. Anderson-Oliver Title Ins. Agency, Inc., No. 20111048 (Utah Aug. 15, 2013) (affirming summary judgment)