INDUSTRY EVENTS
Look For NEW Events Posted Since The Last Issue!
INDUSTRY NEWS
Our State & Local Tax Group explores New York’s new real estate transfer tax recording requirements for LLCs and questions whether the scope and complexity of the changes can be enforced or noncompliance monitored. 

First, a slate of Democratic candidates declared that they would not take money from real estate developers. They swept into state office last fall, displacing incumbents who were friendly to the industry.

HARTFORD — Although a recent Vermont Supreme Court ruling determined that state agencies must allow people to inspect records for free, several town clerks in the Upper Valley said that taking a personal photo of land records will still result in a charge.

Rohina Husseini had no idea someone could steal a house, but the first small clue that the home she owned for nearly a decade was no longer hers was a piece of junk mail that most of us ignore.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has requested public comment on an assessment it will conduct on the TRID Integrated Disclosure Rule (the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act). 

A judge on Oct. 31 reopened the bankruptcy of LandAmerica Financial Group, the Henrico-based title insurance company that was abruptly toppled in November 2008.

LEGAL NEWS
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The California Constitution contains a similar provision. Reading these constitutional provisions, one might reasonably assume that private property cannot be acquired for public use without just compensation. 

Developers of condominium communities and HOAs often reserve access easement rights within the Declaration/Deed Restrictions for the subdivision, especially when the Developer owns yet-undeveloped neighboring property.

Severance v. Patterson, a controversial case that pitted private property rights over Texans' love of public beaches, changed 150 years of precedent in favor of the landowner over the beachgoer. These two Houston justices had words—like "absurd"—about the 2012 ruling's effect in a current appeal.

Holly Rampy Baird partner with Orsinger Nelson Downing & Anderson.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA
With less than two months to go before the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018’s (“CCPA”) effective date of January 1, 2020, businesses should be aware of the potential litigation that awaits them.

People wonder about what it would be like if a super-intelligent AI decided to place all of humanity in a realistic simulation. I wonder what it would be like if the simulation were built by today’s AI instead - whose computing power is somewhere around the level of an earthworm’s.

WORLD NEWS
AXA XL announced it has completed the acquisition of Secure Legal Title Ltd., a London-based insurance agency and Lloyd’s approved coverholder, with operations in the U.K., Europe, India and the Americas.

Horses controversially kept for years in a field prone to flooding have been moved to a secret location, according to the owner of the land.

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
Online deliveries to an apartment building in northern Manhattan are left with a retired woman in 2H who watches over her neighbors’ packages to make sure nothing gets stolen.

In a scheduling order released by the Supreme Court, the Court announced that it will be hearing the case of Seila Law LLC V. Consumer Protection Bureau on March 3, 2020. The case will include arguments against the Bureau’s leadership structure, as the law firm named in the case, Seila Law, alleges that the structure of the agency grants too much power to its director.

In summer, it colors the landscape blood crimson, glossy green, and glassy indigo. In winter, it becomes crystalline, ice-white, and sculptural. Wars have been fought over it, gods have guarded it, and its contents fill plates and tombs. 

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