INDEPENDENT TITLE AGENTS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST OHIO DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE DIRECTOR ALLEGING FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY PROTECT OHIO HOMEOWNERS

The suit alleges that ownership of title insurance agencies by banks, realtors or mortgage brokers, known as controlled business arrangements, creates dangerous conflicts of interest by allowing those banks, realtors and mortgage brokers to obtain kickbacks and referral fees for steering Ohio homeowners to their own controlled title agencies. The lawsuit alleges that such conflicts of interest violate Ohio statutes and that Director Hudson has failed to construe newly enacted rules in accordance with the long-standing law. The suit is the first of its kind in the United States and is an important step towards reducing the overreaching power and influence a bank, realtor and mortgage broker has over a homeowner’s real estate transaction and, in particular, a homeowner’s statutorily protected choice of title insurance provider.