Old Republic National Title Insurance Company

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/12/28) */
December 23, 2015
Revdex.com of Minnesota and North Dakota
Attn: [redacted]
220 S River Ridge Cir
Burnsville, MN 55337
RE: Case # [redacted]
Claim: [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
In response to [redacted]...

[redacted]'s complaint regarding our refusal to pay her legal fees, to date a claim has not been received by Old Republic for reimbursement of said legal fees which would allow us to determine coverage for those fees.
On 10/30/2015, a claim was received from Vincent [redacted] with [redacted] & [redacted], P.C which stated there was a superior judgment against a prior owner and that the insured owner is attempting to sell the property. The claim was acknowledged and a Letter of Indemnity was provided to Vincent [redacted] to continue with the closing on 11/3.
On 11/4, a claim was received from [redacted] AKA [redacted] for the same matter, with a question regarding whether we will pay her legal fees. [redacted]'s claim was acknowledged on 11/10 with an explanation that a letter of indemnity was issued to allow the closing to continue. In addition, we state that Old Republic will only pay legal fees when we retain counsel on behalf of the insured to resolve a defect.
After subsequent communications with Vincent [redacted] and review of additional documents, and since the judgment was preventing the sale of the property and there was a potential for enforcement against the property, on 11/16, a revised coverage determination was sent to [redacted] stating that Old Republic will remove the defect by paying the judgment. On the same day, a request for reduced payoff was sent by fax to Joseph [redacted], counsel for James J [redacted]. Old Republic chose to settle with the judgment holder.
The applicable policy Condition is below:
7. Options to pay or otherwise settle claims ... In case of a claim under this policy, the Company shall have the following additional options:
(b) To Pay or Otherwise Settle With Parties Other Than the Insured or With the Insured Claimant.
(i) to pay or otherwise settle with other parties for or in the name of an Insured Claimant any claim insured against under this policy. In addition, the Company will pay any costs, attorneys' fees, and expenses incurred by the Insured Claimant that were authorized by the Company up to the time of payment and that the Company is obligated to pay; or ...
Following acceptance of a reduced payoff, payment was sent to Joseph [redacted] on 11/30. At this time, we are still pending filing of the release in Wayne County.
Confirmation of the payment was sent to Vincent [redacted] on 11/30 and in response, a request was made about how to submit a bill for his legal services. We responded that the bill and claim for reimbursement can be submitted for review, however there is no coverage within the Owner's Policy for legal fees in connection with submitting a claim on behalf of the insured. The applicable policy Condition is below:
9. Limitation of Liability
(a) If the Company establishes the Title, or removes the alleged defect, lien, or encumbrance, or cures the lack of a right of access to or from the Land, or cures the claim of Unmarketable Title, all as insured, in a reasonably diligent manner by any method, including litigation and the completion of any appeals, it shall have fully performed its obligations with respect to that matter and shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused to the Insured.
No claim regarding legal fees has been received for review to date. Such claim can be submitted at any time.
Please contact me if any further information or documentation is needed.
Sincerely,
OLD REPUBLIC NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY, by
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 15, 2016/01/08) */
Good Morning...... I disagree with the statements from Ms. [redacted] , No issues were resolved.
1. Ms. [redacted] stated That they never refused to pay my legal fees, as they were never billed Please see her email to Vincent [redacted]. On 11/30/15 Stated that she would not be paying my legal fees.
2. See bill from Vincent [redacted] as you see if he did not keep calling and emailing her she would not have paid the lien on the deed.
3. Ms. [redacted] made me lose the sale of this house because at first she refused to pay the lien.
4. See all the emails between Ms. [redacted] and Vincent and myself.
Thank You [redacted]
Emails Below:
Complaint Case # [redacted]
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "[redacted], Julia"
To: Vincent [redacted]
Cc: "[redacted]@yahoo.com"
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 12:52 PM
Subject: RE: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]
There was no claim submitted for a prior mortgage, only the judgment, therefore no prior mortgage was investigated and no coverage was determined.

Yes, a title search which was performed in anticipation of the sale of the property, however that would have been performed regardless of a defect. The owner is able to submit a claim for defects (to which she did after your claim) and her retention of an attorney to assist her with that is not covered by the policy. The potential cancellation of the insured's pending sale due to the question of marketability triggered additional action being taken on top of the previously issued Indemnity Letter. This information could have been received from you or the owner. At this time, the defect is being cured through payment to the third party (Stipulations #7 and #9 in the policy). Old Republic did not need to retain an attorney to cure the defect, which would be the attorneys fees referenced in Stipulation 5.

I can certainly provide a proper denial letter for this additional request if necessary.

I will send the Satisfaction of Judgment once received.


Julia R [redacted]
AVP Claims Administrator Corporate Legal
T: [redacted] F: [redacted] Shoretel: [redacted]
[redacted]@oldrepublictitle.com
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company Old Republic Insurance Group

From: Vincent [redacted]
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 3:25 PM
To: [redacted], Julia
Cc: [redacted]@yahoo.com
Subject: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]

Had I not performed the work that I did, you would not have acknowledged the fact that the [redacted] Judgment did in fact render the Title to the insured premises unmarketable. Nor were you likely to obtain the Satisfaction for the 2006 Mortgage that I was successful in running down. Your Policy covers the Insured for Damage and/or Losses sustained or incurred by reason of "any defect in or lien or encumbrance on the Title". The [redacted] Judgement and the Open 2006 Mortgage each clearly constitute defects in the Title to the premises that rendered it unmarketable. My client should not have to be out of pocket the expenses for my legal fees to help resolve defects in her Title that were not of her created by her. Under the circumstances those legal fees constitute financial damages and/or financial loss to her. Paragraph 5 of the instant Title Policy clearly provides for the payment of attorneys fees. The fact that Old Republic did not retain my services directly does not change the fact that I expended significant time and effort to identify and resolve an open Judgment and Mortgage, each rendering the title to my client's property unmarketable. I will simply bill my client for my time directly and she can bring her own claim against Old Republic in Small Claims Court locally to seek reimbursement for her financial damages.

[redacted] & [redacted], P.C.
Vincent M. [redacted], Esq.
[redacted]
Rochester, N.Y. 14614
Tel (585) [redacted] Ext. [redacted]
Fax (585)[redacted]

From: [redacted], Julia
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 2:47 PM
To: Vincent [redacted]
Subject: RE: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]

You can send that to me, however I will tell you now there is no coverage within the policy for attorneys fees for submitting or handling a claim for the insured.


Julia R [redacted]
AVP Claims Administrator Corporate Legal
T: [redacted] F: [redacted] Shoretel: [redacted]
[redacted]@oldrepublictitle.com
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company Old Republic Insurance Group

From: Vincent [redacted]
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 2:43 PM
To: [redacted], Julia
Subject: RE: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]

Excellent. Would you please provide me with a copy of the recorded Satisfaction once you have it. Also, I would like to submit a Bill for my legal services rendered in connection with this matter. Who should I direct that to ?

[redacted] & [redacted], P.C.
Vincent M. [redacted], Esq.
[redacted]
Rochester, N.Y. 14614
Tel (585) [redacted] Ext. [redacted]
Fax (585)[redacted]

From: [redacted], Julia
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 2:42 PM
To: Vincent [redacted]
Subject: RE: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]

Yes, payment is being sent today.


Julia R [redacted]
AVP Claims Administrator Corporate Legal
T: [redacted] F: [redacted] Shoretel: [redacted]
[redacted]@oldrepublictitle.com
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company Old Republic Insurance Group

From: Vincent [redacted]
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2015 2:39 PM
To: [redacted], Julia
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: Title Insurance Claim # [redacted]

Julia, attached is a copy of the Satisfaction of Mortgage that I ran down for the Mortgage that was recorded on March 29, 2006. For whatever reason, the original was never recorded in the Wayne County Clerk's Office. A dupicate original has been ordered and will be recorded with the Clerk upon its receipt, which should be within the next 4 to 6 weeks. Have you made any progress on resolving the issue of the [redacted] Judgment ? Please advise. Thank you.

[redacted] & [redacted], P.C.
Vincent M. [redacted], Esq.
[redacted]
Rochester, N.Y. 14614
Tel (585) [redacted] Ext. [redacted]
Fax (585)[redacted]



Complaint Case #[redacted]
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "[redacted], Julia"
To: "[redacted]@yahoo.com"
Sent: Tuesday, November 10, 2015 8:19 AM
Subject: Claim [redacted] \ regarding [redacted]
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company acknowledges receipt of your letter dated November 4, 2015. The claim number assigned to this file is [redacted]. We previously received a claim on your behalf from Vincent [redacted]. Please be advised that this matter has been assigned to me to investigate.

Old Republic provided a letter of indemnity to Mr. [redacted]'s office on November 3rd. Typically this allows the closing to continue, and the new title underwriter "writes over" the issue, since Old Republic has provided indemnity over the defect. This means is any loss ever comes from that defect, Old Republic would cover it.

Mr. [redacted] asked us to reconsider our determination and further investigation was made. I have now determined that the judgment against the prior owner was "wiped out" in a foreclosure in 2007. Therefore the lien no longer attaches to the property and the creditor cannot legally enforce the debt against the property. I let Mr. [redacted] know this yesterday. So there should not be any other delay in your closing, as there is no defect at all. If there is any further issue with Mr. [redacted]'s office, please let me know.

In regard to your question about legal fees, no we do not pay your incurred legal fees. If Old Republic determines that a claim is covered and we will need to seek counsel on your behalf, then we would pay their fees. But that is not the case here.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you.




Julia R [redacted]
AVP Claims Administrator Corporate Legal
T: [redacted] F: [redacted] Shoretel: [redacted]
[redacted]@oldrepublictitle.com
Old Republic National Title Insurance Company Old Republic Insurance Group
[redacted] Tampa, FL 33607
oldrepublictitle.com or ortc.com
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Complaint Case #[redacted]
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Vincent [redacted]
Final Business Response /* (1000, 19, 2016/01/22) */
[redacted] See Attached [redacted]
January 19, 2016
Revdex.com of Minnesota and North Dakota
Attn: [redacted]
220 S River Ridge Cir
Burnsville, MN 55337
RE: Case # [redacted]
Claim: [redacted]
Dear Mr. [redacted]:
In response to item #1 on Mrs. [redacted]'s January 8th response, on November 30th, I stated that there is no coverage within the policy for attorney's fees for submitting a claim. This was a general statement, due to there being no policy provision within Mrs. [redacted]'s owner's policy which provides coverage for such fees. Following our December 23rd response to the Revdex.com, Mrs. [redacted] submitted a claim for reimbursement of her legal fees on January 4th. A denial of her claim was sent by emailed letter on January 6th.
In response to item #2 on Mrs. [redacted]'s January 8th response, after our review of all of the documents surrounding the claim for the prior judgment, coverage was determined and a payment was made to cure the defect. While said documents were received from Mr. [redacted], they could have been provided directly by the owner.
In response to item #3 on Mrs. [redacted]'s January 8th response, Old Republic was aware a sale of the property was pending however we did not become aware of the sale being cancelled until we received the original Complaint from your office. Old Republic made a coverage determination within 17 days, paid the loss within 31 days, and provided final proof of resolution of the defect within 65 days of the original claim date. This is well within a reasonable time frame to review and resolve a title claim.
The terms of the title insurance policy dictate the agreement between the parties and the liability of Old Republic for the insured owner. Please contact me if any further information or documentation is needed.
Sincerely,
OLD REPUBLIC NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY, by
Julia [redacted]
AVP Claims Administrator
Cc: [redacted].
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 21, 2016/01/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I disagree 100% Ms. [redacted] has been refusing to pay starting on day one. See email dated Nov. 4th 2015, Ms. [redacted] acknowledges receipt of my letter was given a claim number of [redacted] telling me that she would investigate it. Telling me the the closing could continue. So she claimed that the new title underwriter"write over" issue. Ms. [redacted] did do her investigation state that it was " wiped out" so she wanted the buyer to continue with the closing only to fine out the house would be foreclosed.If I had not hire Vincent [redacted] to fight her on this I would lost more than my buyer. Ms. [redacted] stated in her email THIS MEANS IS ANY LOSS EVER COMES FROM THAT DEFECT OLD REPUBLIC WOULD COVER IT. So after a number of email Ms. [redacted] found she had made a mistake and that she needed to pay. I do not feel I should have to pay Vincent [redacted] for her mistake, she talks about dates but we live in the real world she made a mistake. Now she needs to own it. This is a loss like she stated in her email Old Republic will pay. So just pay it. It's not like she is giving me the money it's being paid for a service that I needed to hire to make her do what was needed to be done .