TITLE INSURANCE CUSTOMERS SUE TITLE INSURANCE COMPANIES
TO RECOVER MILLIONS IN ILLEGAL PAYMENTS

Seattle, WA, October 18, 2006 – Relying on Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s conclusion that title insurance companies in this state have systematically provided illegal inducements to real estate middlemen to steer customers to them, some of those customers have filed suit today against their title insurers to recover for themselves and other customers the increased cost of their title insurance due to the insurers’ lavish and illegal inducements to win customers.  The Complaint alleges that over the 18-month period investigated by the Insurance Commissioner, First American Title Company, the insurer for Romulo and Purita Lorenzo, spent approximately $2,160,000 on illegal inducements to get the business of customers such as the Lorenzos.  And Pacific Northwest Title Company, the insurer for Catherine Blaylock and Jill MacInnes, spent nearly $650,000 in illegal inducements to steer business its way.  The lawsuit asks the court to certify a class of all Washington customers of the two title insurers. 

Said John Phillips, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, “Commissioner Kreidler has done consumers a service with his report.  He has decided not to pursue financial penalties, but to impose change on this industry.  That leaves it to ordinary consumers such as the Lorenzos and Ms. Blaylock and Ms. MacInnes  to step forward and seek financial recourse against these title insurers that have obviously made title insurance more expensive while spending on lavish and illegal inducements to steer business their way.”

The attorneys representing the plaintiffs in this suit against are John W. Phillips and Matthew Geyman of Phillips Law Group, PLLC, and Matthew Bergman and Ari Brown of Bergman and Frockt, PLLC.  To learn more, please call Matt Geyman at (206) 382-1168 or email him at mgeyman@jphillipslaw.com.

If you purchased title insurance in Washington after November 2, 1990, you may have a claim for damage suffered as a result of the illegal practices described in the Washington Insurance Commissioner's October 2006 report titled, "An Investigation into the Use of Incentives and Inducements by Title Insurance Companies."  Please fill in and submit the following form if you would like us to review your purchase of title insurance.