On July 14, 2018 a
Exhibit,Appendix
was filed
involving a dispute between
Ellyn Berk,
Pamela Goldstein,
Paul Benjamin,
Tony Berk,
and
Houlihan Lawrence Inc.,
for Commercial Division
in the District Court of Westchester County.
Preview
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019
EXHIBIT 27D
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
7/30/2018 Opinion | The Title Insurance Scam - The New York Times
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019
EDITORIAL
The Title Insurance Scam
By The Editorial Board
May 12, 2015
When you buy or refinance a home, you have to get title insurance, which protects both you and
the lender if ownership of the property is ever challenged. Shopping around for title insurance is
rare; if you are like most people, you buy the insurance from a title agent referred to you by the
loan officer or someone else involved in the transaction. All of which makes buyers of title
insurance sitting ducks for abuse. Congress is aware of the situation — and is determined to keep
things just as they are.
It is no secret, for instance, that many borrowers are overcharged for title insurance. In 2007, the
Government Accountability Office warned that the price of title policies was inflated by lack of
competition in the title-insurance market, as well as apparently illegal kickbacks paid by title
agents to realtors, mortgage brokers, loan officers and others who sent business their way.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank law called for cleaning up title insurance, and, in 2014, regulators from the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule to carry out the law. Basically, the rule
created a safe harbor from liability for regulatory violations, but only for loans with closing costs
of less than 3 percent of the total loan, including fees to title companies affiliated with lenders. In
effect, the rule uses market incentives to limit title costs by offering lighter regulation in
exchange for keeping costs down.
Congress is resisting. A bipartisan majority in the House recently passed a Republican bill to
exclude title fees from the calculation that determines the level of regulatory scrutiny. The White
House has threatened a veto. But, in the Senate, Republicans could add the bill to other legislation
that Democrats may want.
The bill ignores evidence of kickbacks unearthed by the consumer bureau and by New York’s
Department of Financial Services. The public corruption case against Dean Skelos, who stepped
down Monday as majority leader of the New York State Senate, and his son Adam, involves title
insurance. The elder Mr. Skelos is alleged to have pressed a real estate executive to send title-
related business to his son, who had worked in insurance. The executive had a title company pay
the son a “commission” of $20,000 for no work — which is another way of inflating the price paid
by consumers for title insurance.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/opinion/the-title-insurance-scam.html 1/2
FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018
7/30/2018 Opinion | The Title Insurance Scam - The New York Times
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019
A version of this article appears in print on May 12, 2015, on Page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: The Title Insurance Scam
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/opinion/the-title-insurance-scam.html 2/2
Document Filed Date
May 14, 2019
Case Filing Date
July 14, 2018
Category
Commercial Division
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FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019 EXHIBIT 27D FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 7/30/2018 Opinion | The Title Insurance Scam - The New York Times NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019 EDITORIAL The Title Insurance Scam By The Editorial Board May 12, 2015 When you buy or refinance a home, you have to get title insurance, which protects both you and the lender if ownership of the property is ever challenged. Shopping around for title insurance is rare; if you are like most people, you buy the insurance from a title agent referred to you by the loan officer or someone else involved in the transaction. All of which makes buyers of title insurance sitting ducks for abuse. Congress is aware of the situation — and is determined to keep things just as they are. It is no secret, for instance, that many borrowers are overcharged for title insurance. In 2007, the Government Accountability Office warned that the price of title policies was inflated by lack of competition in the title-insurance market, as well as apparently illegal kickbacks paid by title agents to realtors, mortgage brokers, loan officers and others who sent business their way. The 2010 Dodd-Frank law called for cleaning up title insurance, and, in 2014, regulators from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule to carry out the law. Basically, the rule created a safe harbor from liability for regulatory violations, but only for loans with closing costs of less than 3 percent of the total loan, including fees to title companies affiliated with lenders. In effect, the rule uses market incentives to limit title costs by offering lighter regulation in exchange for keeping costs down. Congress is resisting. A bipartisan majority in the House recently passed a Republican bill to exclude title fees from the calculation that determines the level of regulatory scrutiny. The White House has threatened a veto. But, in the Senate, Republicans could add the bill to other legislation that Democrats may want. The bill ignores evidence of kickbacks unearthed by the consumer bureau and by New York’s Department of Financial Services. The public corruption case against Dean Skelos, who stepped down Monday as majority leader of the New York State Senate, and his son Adam, involves title insurance. The elder Mr. Skelos is alleged to have pressed a real estate executive to send title- related business to his son, who had worked in insurance. The executive had a title company pay the son a “commission” of $20,000 for no work — which is another way of inflating the price paid by consumers for title insurance. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/opinion/the-title-insurance-scam.html 1/2 FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 05/14/2019 05:40 PM INDEX NO. 60767/2018 7/30/2018 Opinion | The Title Insurance Scam - The New York Times NYSCEF DOC. NO. 412 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 05/14/2019 A version of this article appears in print on May 12, 2015, on Page A22 of the New York edition with the headline: The Title Insurance Scam https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/opinion/the-title-insurance-scam.html 2/2