Issue No. 157 | February 5, 2020


EVENTS
Look For NEW Events Posted Since The Last Issue!
INDUSTRY NEWS
TCPA / Reassignment of Number: Court denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment where the plaintiff did not give consent to receive calls, even though the defendants obtained consent from the individual to whom the phone number was previously assigned; although the defendants were not aware that the phone number was reassigned to the plaintiff, a good faith defense does not exist under these circumstances -

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is urging title and settlement agents to help it assess the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) rule by participating in a survey.

Since 2018, several states have enacted regulations to allow for electronic notarizations. WBK provided information in prior newsletters for Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Utah. Each of these states recently made additional modifications to their respective rules.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries, will release 4th quarter and full year 2019 earnings after the close of regular market trading on Thursday, February 13, 2020.

The New York State Land Title Association (NYSLTA) is a trade association representing the interests of persons and companies actively engaged in the title insurance industry in New York State.

LEGAL NEWS
Herein, highlights from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Briggs, et al. v. Southwestern Energy Production Company. The rule of capture applies to oil and gas produced from wells completed using hydraulic fracturing and precludes trespass liability for drainage from under nearby property, where the well is drilled solely on and beneath the driller’s own property and frack fluids are injected solely beneath the driller’s own property.

A homeowners association has threatened to fine its residents as much as $250 per day for posting negative comments about the HOA and their neighbors on social media. But residents say the decision is a form of censorship and say the HOA has overstepped its boundaries.

A New York Appellate Court (Fourth Department) (“Court”) addressed in a November 8th Order an action filed by a potential purchaser of a 50 acre parcel of property against the Town of Carroll, New York alleging a taking without just compensation.

If you are considering forming a District of Columbia LLC, already have a District of Columbia LLC, or have an LLC that is doing business in the District of Columbia, a recently enacted law will require disclosure of certain owners and controlling parties of those LLCs to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA).

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS
A new law enforcement app called Clearview is taking a leap into the legal unknown by creating one of the biggest known facial recognition databases around, powered by 3 billion public pictures pulled from social media.

It’s a neural net generated brownie recipe called Chocolate Baked and Serves, and its distinguishing feature is the CUP OF HORSERADISH it contains. It was so bad that my eyes watered as I removed it from the oven.

WORLD NEWS
MOKHE, Georgia, Jan 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - On a snow-covered plateau in southern Georgia, a wooden cross marks the construction site of a monastery that has triggered a bitter land dispute between local Muslim villagers and the Christian Orthodox Church.

For instance, a crook might get a mortgage using the identity of an existing property owner. The real property owner only finds out about the mortgage when they are notified it is in default — at which point the true owner must go to court or to a hearing with the director of titles to get the mortgage discharged without payment.

TITLE AGENCY & PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Jackie Hoyt, CEO of Hillsboro Title Company, a Missouri-based full-service residential, commercial, and construction disbursement title company, brings her industry knowledge to The Anatomy of Accomplishment: Your Guide to Bigger, Better, Bolder Business Results.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is pleased to announce that title industry veteran John Magness has joined FNF as Executive Vice President and EVP of Alamo Title Company. In this capacity, Mr. Magness will lead the operational expansion and growth of Alamo Title Company in Texas and across the United States.

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
The fact is, we’re now just entering peak snowboard and ski time in most parts of the U.S. And while “affordable ski town” may sound like an oxymoron, there are cute communities near the slopes where home prices won’t freeze you out of the market—places with mountain views outside your living room, fresh powder encroaching your doorstep, and enticing single-track biking trails waiting in the summer.

Imagine you bought a house and, a year and a half later, you discovered bundles of cash totaling more than $100,000 that had been hidden away by the deceased former owner. Who would be entitled to the money -- you or the former owner's estate? Confronted with just such an unusual case, a court determined that the new owner should keep the windfall.

In some buildings in downtown Memphis, offices facing the Great American Pyramid are equipped with automatic shades that lower themselves by mid-afternoon, when the sunlight glinting off the 300-foot-tall structure shifts from glowing to blinding.

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