The Title Reporter – Winter 2021

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 liability for allegedly breaching the implied covenant of “seisin” – that is, the covenant that the grantor owned the property being conveyed.
• An appellate court in Ohio has affirmed a trial court’s decision in favor of a title company (and in favor of a county recorder) in a dispute over the ownership of a garage unit at an Ohio condominium.
• An appellate court in Kentucky has affirmed a trial court’s decision rejecting a legal malpractice action filed by property owners arising from a title examination performed by an attorney.
• A federal district court in New Jersey has rejected a title insurance agent’s lawsuit seeking coverage under its errors and omissions insurance policy for losses relating to an email spoofing scheme in which it was duped into sending real estate loan proceeds to a fraudulent account.
• Finally, in an article entitled, “Anatomy of a Title Insurance Trial,” we discuss a lengthy decision by an appellate court in Ohio upholding a trial court’s actions in a trial involving title insurance that resulted in the jury’s decision to reject the plaintiff’s claims against the title companies.

Wishing you a happy, healthy New Year,

David P. Leno, Peter P. McNamara, Matthew V. Spero, and Michael J. Heller