Issue No. 183 | August 5, 2020


EVENTS
Look For NEW Events Posted Since The Last Issue!
INDUSTRY NEWS
The IRS issued Proposed Regulation 117589-18 on June 11, 2020 (the “Proposed Regs”), in response to legislative changes applicable to like-kind exchange transactions (“1031s”).

Real Property Update - Premises Liability / Summary Judgment: Trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of developer where there was a disputed issue of material fact regarding whether an uncommon design or mode of construction created a hidden danger that a prudent invitee would not anticipate - Echevarria v Lennar Homes, LLC, No. 3D19-1422 (Fla. 3d DCA July 1, 2020) 

In commercial real estate finance transactions involving a portfolio of properties located in multiple states, lenders must consider certain title insurance issues unique to such transactions.

All eyes are on Washington this week as legislators debate the details of the next coronavirus relief bill. But with the clock running out before the CARES Act expires at the end of July, it’s looking less likely that the industry will have any answers before the first or second week of August.

LEGAL NEWS
The California Court of Appeals recently held that a title insurance company and title agent had no duty to inform their insured purchaser that the individual selling the property, and who was going to act as the insured’s property manager, was involved in multiple other lawsuits.

Can a California real property owner challenge a lender’s authority to foreclose before a foreclosure sale has occurred? It’s looking less likely with each new appellate opinion.

City Attorney Eric Monday addressed the Martinsville City Council during their July 28 meeting, following a motion by Council Member Danny Turner to refund money for a real estate transaction that the city made with a resident.

The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico recently found that an insured’s claim regarding a prior mortgage was barred by the title insurance policy’s Exclusion 3(a) and the fact that the insured could not prove any damages.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
Those who are happy with traditional registries and bureaucracy can stay with these, but those who want to use the full power of blockchain, smart contracts and decentralized applications can transfer their records from the centralized database to any ledger.

One difference between OpenAI’s new text generator (known as GPT-3) and the other neural networks I’ve used in the past is that it now looks at much more text when deciding what to write next.

WORLD NEWS
Congratulation to Ms Shenali Waduge, she has studied the Act 21 of 1998 and explained the legal implications of Title Registration [also called Bim Saviya]. Yes many learned  members of our society argue that foreign funding,  foreign laws and technology should be accepted with gratitude. 

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
This list highlights lots of wonderful people who will make your Twitter feed a better place if you follow them! Let’s connect and make the world a better place!

Charles (Chuck) Cain has joined the FNF Family of Companies as SVP of the National Agency Division.
Charles (Chuck) Cain has joined the FNF Family of Companies as SVP of the National Agency Division.

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
As the influenza pandemic swept across the United States in 1918 and 1919, masks took a role in political and cultural wars.

Keeping newsletters and sale e-blasts from piling up in your inbox can sometimes seem as labor-intensive as weeding a literal garden. And for every mailing list you successfully manage to remove yourself from, there’s another one that you inexplicably end up on.

A pair of developers and Upper West Side community activists have been raging a paper crusade against each other over a 670-foot-tall tower that might, as collateral damage, count Department of Buildings guarantees as a casualty.

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