Stewart Title & Trust of Phoenix, Inc.

Dear  Ms.  [redacted]:
This  is in follow up to  our recent  response to the complaint received from Ms.  [redacted], and her subsequent reply  on  2/11/14.
I do apologize  for  the  misinformation in my  prior  letter  regarding her mother's death.    Nevertheless, since  the subject property was  vested in the mother's trust, and Ms.  [redacted]  was  acting  as a successor trustee to  sell the property, the  title  officer would still  have to  make  certain requirement(s) to ensure  that the  person  acting  on behalf  of the  owner has the  authority to  do so.
Apparently she had to  contact her attorney to obtain  the  necessary paperwork to  prove  the  existence of  her  authority, as the  documentation she had originally provided was  insufficient. The escrow officer also had, at some  point, contacted Ms.  [redacted]'s attorney's office.  It is unfortunate that Ms.  [redacted]  had to  incur  additional attorney's  fees to  close  this  sale, however, that  is not  out  of the  ordinary in a transaction such  as this.
 
As previously stated, the  escrow closed  on November 8, 2013. This  was actually a few  days  earlier  that  the  scheduled closing  date  of Nov  11,  2013, according to the terms of the  purchase contract. So it does not  appear that there  was  any delay  caused  by Stewart's requirements.
Unfortunately, Stewart declines at this  time to  reimburse her for  the  $405 she has requested, especially in light  of the  fact  that  she had been  given  a discount at closing  on her title  fee charge  in the  amount  of  $258.30 as part of the  transaction.
 If you have any further questions in this matter, please contact me. 
Very truly yours, 

Sr. Vice President & General Counsel
JTL/kf

Dear Ms. [redacted]:
Please consider this correspondence as Stewart Title's response to the complaint received from Ms. [redacted], and your correspondence regarding the above matter. I apologize for the delay in responding as we have...

recently relocated offices and there's been a subsequent delay.
Stewart Title acted as escrow agent for the sale of the Ms. [redacted]'s  mother's  property in Peoria, which closed on November 8, 2013.  Ms. [redacted] was acting as successor trustee of her mother's trust, as her mother had recently passed away.  The title examiner had made a requirement for an executed Trust Certification, which would be appended to the deed to the new owners. This is standard underwriting practice in the title industry, and it's  a fairly simple document. Often examiners make general/standard requirements, however these requirements can be waived or modified under the appropriate circumstances.
In the present case, these requirements  were adjusted and or revised based upon the facts. I'm unsure of any other issues, other than fulfillment and/or waiver of the various underwriting requirements. The escrow was opened on October 2$,2013, and closed on November 8, 2013, which I believe was the anticipated closing date, and was not unduly delayed.
If you have any further questions in this matter, please contact me.  As I noted above, my office has recently relocated, so please address any further communications on this, or any other matter, to the address above.

The response is unacceptable based on inaccurate, irrelevant information (for example, my mother did not die).    My expectation is that the trust should be reimbursed for an unnecessary legal expense.  This was explained in my original complaint: "As Successor Trustee of my mother's Revocable Family Trust, my realtor had me use Stewart Title to process the sale of my mother's home. (My mother is a protected person and I also serve as her court-appointed Guardian and Conservator). I was completely dissatisfied with the actions of Stewart Title's - Arizona Chief Title Officer, [redacted]. My experience to complete paperwork to sell my mother’s house was delayed and made more complicated by Ms. [redacted]’s apparent lack of understanding of the relationship between guardianship, conservatorship and becoming a successor trustee. To me, it didn’t really matter that she was not knowledgeable in this regard, but what did matter was that she refused to consult with the title company's legal advisors who would have understood what my legal documents meant. Instead, she created her own (erroneous) interpretations and requirements. It appears she didn’t even read the legal documents I had. To overcome the challenges Ms. [redacted] was creating I consulted with the Attorney for the Family Trust, incurring an additional fee charged to the Trust, of $ 405.00. The Trust attorney reiterated to the Title Company that I had all the documentation I needed to sell my mother’s house. I wrote Stewart Title on 11/11/2013 stating my dissatisfaction and my expectation that the Trust would be reimbursed legal fees. I received no response from [redacted], Vice President, Stewart Title - Arizona. I again wrote Mr. [redacted] at Stewart Title - Arizona on 12/12/2013 reiterating the problem and enclosing a copy of the Trust Attorney's invoice for the attorney having to provide consultation to Stewart Title's Chief Title Office. Again, I have had no response nor reimbursement from Stewart Title - Arizona."