Issue No. 175 | June 10, 2020


EVENTS
Look For NEW Events Posted Since The Last Issue!
INDUSTRY NEWS
On May 28, the New York Law Journal published an article called “State Bar Group Calls for ‘Mandatory’ COVID-19 Vaccinations, Regardless of Objections.” The headline itself was jolting enough. 

This bulletin is intended to clarify when title insurance producers are required to maintain a premium account. Title insurance producers who collect title insurance premiums are required to either promptly remit those premiums to the appropriate carrier or to deposit those premiums in a premium account.

Attorneys' Fees / Construction Lien: Applying the plain and unambiguous language of Florida Statutes section 713.29, the court found that junior interest holders are not entitled to attorneys' fees as a prevailing party in a lien enforcement action - Decks N Such Marine, Inc., v. Daake, No. 1D18-1396 (Fla. 1st DCA May 15, 2020) (reversed)

The recent renewal of the efforts to release the government-backed mortgage buyers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae from federal oversight could change the mortgage landscape for American borrowers, if the process is successful.

LEGAL NEWS
In a case having broad implications for residential real estate transactions, title insurance companies, and the mortgage industry, the Rhode Island Supreme Court on May 29 addressed the issue of whether residential real estate closings and related services should be considered the practice of law, and if so, whether non-attorneys should nevertheless be allowed to perform those services in the public interest.

Since the invention of the mobile home, everyone has struggled with the relationship these homes have to real property. Is the mobile home part of the real property? Is it personal property and if so, when and how does it become real property?

The Court of Appeals of Washington held that a lot owner was barred from claiming ownership of a strip of land after representing that the land was part of the adjacent lot, building a fence along the supposed boundary, allowing the adjacent lot owner to maintain and landscape up to the fence, abandoning the land, and causing the adjacent lot owner to rely on that representation.

In a somewhat counterintuitive decision, a Pennsylvania Superior Court recently affirmed a decision finding that wire fraud and money laundering could constitute “Professional Services” under a professional liability policy where two senior management members used their authority and their time on duty to engage in a criminal scheme to defraud a hotel.

The article “New Statute Eliminating Waiver of Standing Defense Imperils Title Insurance (and Foreclosures)” (April 28) dispenses dire warnings about the parade of horribles that supposedly will ensue from a new law that makes the defense of lack of standing nonwaivable in a residential foreclosure action.

Where a deed is executed under a POA, a purchaser/investor will require, as completion deliverables, a certified copy of the POA and a specific PRA form certificate to come from the solicitor for the attorney certifying certain items in respect of the POA.

WORLD NEWS
CHANTHABURI: A man and his son have been arrested for making false statements and embezzlement over a land dispute that led to last year’s multiple shooting in a Chanthaburi courtroom.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
There's an old Jesus Jones song that goes, "I saw the decade end watching the world change in the blink of an eye." They were singing about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Europe. But the novel coronavirus is changing the world, too -- including the way Americans buy and sell real estate.

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Title Agents Go Nationwide
For agents interested in growing their businesses by expanding into multiple states, we’re here to make the process simple and profitable. We offer you one point of contact to streamline your options and solutions...

OTHER TRENDING NEWS
 It has a lot of original detail, inlaid stained glass, pocket doors,” says listing agent Nancy Blaker Weber, who is selling the home for the third time.

Over the past few months, with social distancing and the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been really curious about how people have been spending their time at home and getting through everything. 

In an effort to keep the creative juices flowing, Boston-based art director Jim Malloy has been updating classic Dr. Seuss book covers for the current pandemic days. From 'the places you won't go' to 'the clorox', these childhood classics get the remix they deserve and its great. 

Its main pitch — that people will pay for a quiet space to make calls, do work or just be alone — rings especially true now, as New Yorkers wrap up the 10th week of the state’s stay-at-home order.

Marianne Mathieu, NTP
Vice President/National Agency Accounts
Fidelity National Financial
(347) 987-0677