Title Insurance and Your Transaction
Michael Heller’s, Matthew Spero’s and Lawrence Han’s Winter issue of the Title Reporter was published in the Real Estate Finance Journal. This article discusses the following court rulings and other title insurance-related...more
By: Jeffrey M. Haber In TD Bank, N.A. v. Keenan, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 06158 (2d Dept. Nov. 29, 2023) (here), the Appellate Division, Second Department examined the often “nettlesome” question of whether a plaintiff claiming...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of Title Insurance Update Autumn 2023- • “Deed Theft: Recent New York Developments” explains that New York State prosecutors, and the New York State legislature, have been focusing on the...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry: •An appellate court in Arkansas, affirming a trial court’s decision, has ruled that a title insurer had properly...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry •A federal district court in New York granted summary judgment in favor of a title insurance company and its...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry •A federal district court in New York has rejected a lawsuit filed by insureds under a title insurance policy...more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry: •A federal district court in Montana has ruled that a conveyance of property by policyholders under a title...more
Real Property Update - Commercial Lease / Contract Interpretation: Trial court erroneously interpreted the lease as capping landlords’ damages for tenant’s breach of contract to the tenant’s security deposit – Nunez v....more
Real Property Update - HELOC / Authentication: A home equity line of credit is not a negotiable instrument, is not self-authenticating, and must be proven in support of summary judgment – Demakis v. Suntrust Bank, No....more
Financial Services Update - Breach of Contract & Pre-Suit Notice: Consumer's failure to abide by a mortgage's notice and cure provision barred his breach of contract claim - Cooper v. PennyMac Loan Servs., LLC, No....more
Here is what we cover in this issue of The Title Reporter: A Legal Update for the Title Insurance Industry: •The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that a special warranty deed conveying real property limited the grantor’s...more
Real Property Update - Due Process / Notice: due process rights violated in case involving claims for breach of contract for sale of property; party received insufficient notice of motion to amend complaint to add punitive...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Condition Precedent: Borrower who raises an affirmative defense, such as failure of conditions precedent, bears the burden of proving that affirmative defense even if lender's complaint...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure Sale: borrowers failed to allege adequate equitable factors and make proper showing to justify setting aside foreclosure sale, but instead re-litigate issues determined in underlying...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure / Surplus Funds: sections 45.032 and 45.033, Florida Statutes, create a rebuttable presumption that the owner of record of real property on the date of the filing of a lis pendens is...more
Misrepresentation/Concealment: genuine issues of material fact remained in dispute regarding whether board-certified real estate attorney committed fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation or concealment by falsely assuring...more
Real Property Update - Foreclosure/Standing/Lost Note: if plaintiff did not have right to enforce note when lost, plaintiff should present evidence of assignment from payee to plaintiff or affidavit of ownership - ...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Settlement/Waiver: borrowers permitted to raise affirmative defenses and counterclaims against lender where subject Loan Modification Agreement failed to include waiver of claims, affirmative...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE: Foreclosure/Standing: where copy of note attached to foreclosure complaint contained no endorsement and original note presented at trial had endorsement in favor of plaintiff, plaintiff required to...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Unclean Hands: defense of unclean hands insufficient where borrower alleges bank’s loan officer inflated borrower’s income and assets to qualify for loan where borrower signed off on...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - - Foreclosure/Standing: although bank established it had possession of note prior to commencement of action, bank did not demonstrate when blank endorsement was placed on note, nor did it prove it...more
In the recent decision in First American Title Insurance Co. v. Johnson Bank, 1 CA-CV 14-0190, 2015 WL 3965740 filed June 30, 2015, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that the date for calculating a loss under a lender’s title...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Duty to Disclose/Vacant Property: plaintiff failed to present competent, substantial evidence of existence of fact materially affecting value of property and did not prove defendants had actual...more
Neutral Evaluation/Sinkhole Litigation: trial court erred in sustaining objection to insurer’s notice of stay to invoke neutral evaluation process in lawsuit for breach of contract and damages for sinkhole losses to property...more
I. FLORIDA STATE CASES - SARA WITMEYER - - Jurisdiction: where court never entered order authorizing individual to intervene and individual never became party to litigation, court had no personal jurisdiction to...more