The Title Reporter — Winter 2023

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 affiliate in a case alleging that they breached their fiduciary duty and engaged in deceptive business practices under New York General Business Law § 349 by funding the defense of an adversary in a state court quiet title action.
• An appellate court in Texas reversed a trial court’s decision finding that a title insurer breached a title insurance policy and awarding damages. The appellate court concluded that there was “legally and factually insufficient evidence” that the insurer had breached the contract.
• The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Washington granted a title insurer’s summary judgment motion in a case alleging that the title insurer had been negligent and had breached the title insurance policy.
• The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of North Carolina granted a title insurance company’s motion for a temporary restraining order in a case in which the title insurer alleged that funds it wired as part of a real estate refinancing transaction had been “fraudulently diverted” by the defendant posing as a company involved in the refinancing.
• An appellate court in Illinois, affirming a trial court’s decision, ruled that a judgment lien on property was extinguished on the death of one of the two joint tenants where the judgment underlying the lien was against the deceased joint tenant.

Lawrence S. Han, Michael J. Heller and Matthew V. Spero