The Michigan Court of Appeals recently held that insured homeowners did not have coverage under their title insurance policy for an easement permitting city sewer pipes across the property, based in part in the city’s later disclaimer of the easement. See Harris v. Fid. Nat’l Title Ins. Co., 2020 WL 969208 (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that a loan to a trustee that was used to repair the trust beneficiary’s home could be a consumer credit transaction subject to TILA and RESPA. See Gilliam, Tr. of Lou Easter Ross Revocable Tr. v. Levine , Tr. of Joel Sherman Revocable Tr., 955 F.3d 1117 (9th Cir. 2020).
The United States District Court for the District of Nevada recently held that a lender’s claim regarding an HOA lien was not covered by its title insurance policy because the lien was recorded after the policy date. See Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr. Co. as Tr. for Am. Home Mortg. Inv. Tr. 2007-2 v. Fid. Nat’l Title Ins. Co., 2020 WL 1638808 (D. Nev. Apr. 2, 2020).
The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas recently dismissed an individual plaintiff’s RESPA claims because the borrower under the loan was actually her LLC. See Cocchia v. LendingHome Funding Corp., 2020 WL 1879223 (W.D. Tex. Apr. 15, 2020). Plaintiff purchased the subject property “with an LLC, . . . for the initial purpose of using the property as a rental.”
The California Court of Appeals recently found that a quiet title action brought by homeowners challenging a deed of trust five years after receiving a notice of trustee’s sale was not untimely because their possession was not disturbed, as they immediately submitted the issue to the title insurer. See Huang v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2020 WL 2059951 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2020).
The Appellate Court of Illinois recently found that borrowers bringing a claim under the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) for a lender’s refusal to rescind a mortgage must bring the action within one year of the lender’s violation. See U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass'n v. Miller, 2020 IL App (1st) 191029 (Ill. App. 2020). The defendant borrowers refinanced their mortgage in 2007.
The New Jersey Chancery Division in Bergen County recently vacated a final judgment of foreclosure based on the defendant’s principal’s health issues and its attorney’s alleged negligence. See BV001 REO Blocker, LLC v. HB (USA) Properties, LLC, Docket No. BER-F-2097-19. Plaintiff filed a tax foreclosure complaint relating to the defendant entity’s property in January 2019 and served defendant in February.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia recently held that an insured was not entitled to a defense in a lawsuit alleging a forged deed after it conveyed the property, and when the underlying complaint alleges that the insured was involved in wrongful conduct. See Sec. Title Guarantee Corp. of Baltimore v. 915 Decatur St NW, LLC, 2019 WL 6728449 (D.D.C. Dec. 11, 2019), as amended (Mar. 23, 2020).
In response to the continuing efforts to combat COVID-19, on May 7, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order (“EO”) 202.28 which extends, among other things, EO 202.7 (remote notarization) and EO 202.14 (remote witnessing) until June 6, 2020, unless further extended by Governor Cuomo.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico recently found that a title insurance company was not liable for the alleged negligent acts of the title agent in failing to discharge a mortgage. See Lamey v. Las Cruces Abstract and Title Co., et al., 2020 WL 1884189 (Bankr. D.N.M. Apr. 15, 2020). In the case, the insured plaintiffs brought an action against a title agent and a title insurance company based on the agent’s failure to discharge a mortgage.