Legal Work For Title Insurance Companies
Sikora Law handles title claims and direct litigation for nearly every title insurance company that conducts business in Ohio. Many of those matters involve issues concerning the validity of interests in real property such as deeds, mortgages, mechanic’s liens, and easements. We handle many priority disputes among parties that have mortgages and other liens in real property. We have made more favorable Ohio law for title insurance companies than any other firm. That includes 35 appellate victories on 27 different subjects. When we, at Sikora Law, have matters dealing with those subjects, our ability to explain the issues to Judges and relate the issues to appellate cases that we have won builds tremendous trust and respect and is very effective.
Likewise, our firm has drafted three bills that have become Ohio real estate title or escrow statutes, including the title cure statute, the mortgage satisfaction statute, and the good funds statute. We know why every word was in each of those statutes, the purpose of each, and how they should be interpreted for the benefit of our Clients. That’s something that our firm has a unique ability to do, which enables us to achieve outstanding results.
We know how to use the law to benefit title insurance companies better than any other firm.
Our Title Legal Team
Types of Claims
OUR TITLE INSURANCE LEGAL TEAM
Michael J. Sikora III
Managing Partner
Richard Craven
Managing Director
Alexander Goetsch
Director
George Carr
Director
Travis Huffman
Attorney
Trusted by the best in the industry:
We value greatly Sikora Law’s real estate title law expertise, judgment, and experience in assessing and resolving title insurance legal matters throughout Ohio, and we enjoy working with their team.
Lev Kalman, Claims Center Director – Eastern Region, First American Title Insurance Company
The lawyers at Sikora Law are my go-to resource when I have title claim situations in Ohio. They are well-versed in the subject matter, they understand the title insurance industry and what matters to title insurance companies, and I trust them immensely to look out for the interests of our insureds.
Mindy K. Turner, Senior Claims Counsel, Stewart Title Guaranty Company
CASES HANDLED BY SIKORA LAW
THAT MADE FAVORABLE TITLE & ESCROW LAW
Abstracting Versus Title Coverage
HSBC Bank, N.A. v. Lee, 2012 Ohio 648, appeal not accepted for review; HSBC Bank, N.A. v. Lee, 130 Ohio St.3d 1495 (2011).
A title insurance company is bound only to the terms of the title insurance policy that it issued, and does not generally have the duties of an abstractor of title. HSBC Bank, N.A. v. Lee, 2012 Ohio 648, appeal not accepted for review; HSBC Bank, N.A. v. Lee, 130 Ohio St.3d 1495 (2011). One of those Amicus Briefs resulted in a favorable determination on constructive notice against bankruptcy trustees with respect to an insured mortgage that did not include a legal description. See Argent Mtge. Co., LLC v. Drown (In re Bunn), 578 F.3d 487 (6th Cir. 2009).
Amicus Briefs
Kovacs v. First Union Home Equity Bank (In re Huffman), 408 F.3d 290 (6th Cir. 2005); In re Stewart, 96 Ohio St.3d 67, 2002-Ohio-3526; Sayer v. Epler, 93 Ohio St.3d 1496 (2001).
Filed more Amicus Briefs on behalf of the Ohio Land Title Association than any other attorney in Ohio. Kovacs v. First Union Home Equity Bank (In re Huffman), 408 F.3d 290 (6th Cir. 2005); In re Stewart, 96 Ohio St.3d 67, 2002-Ohio-3526; Sayer v. Epler, 93 Ohio St.3d 1496 (2001).
Bankruptcy Challenges
Drown v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al. (In re Scott), 424 B.R. 315 (Bankr. S.D.Ohio 2010), aff’d. Drown v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al. (In re Scott), 2011 WL 1188434 (S.D.Ohio 2011).
Bankruptcy trustees may not attack mortgages based upon alleged defects in the execution of vesting deeds granted to mortgagors. Drown v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al. (In re Scott), 424 B.R. 315 (Bankr. S.D.Ohio 2010), aff’d. Drown v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al. (In re Scott), 2011 WL 1188434 (S.D.Ohio 2011).
Bona Fide Purchaser/Mortgagee
ABN AMRO Mtge. Group, Inc. v. Roush, 2005-Ohio-1763 & FirstMerit v. Beers, 2007-Ohio-4253
Established precedent that extended bona fide purchaser law to bona fide mortgagees. ABN AMRO Mtge. Group, Inc. v. Roush, 2005-Ohio-1763 Solidified, clarified, and reinforced bona fide mortgagee law. FirstMerit v. Beers, 2007-Ohio-4253.
Constructive Notice
Spellman c Advertising Services, L.L.C. v. Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Comm., 2016-Ohio-7152; Ohio Turnpike Comm. v. Spellman, 2010-Ohio-1705.
Instruments in a separate chain of title do not afford constructive notice so as to affect subsequent purchasers. Spellman c Advertising Services, L.L.C. v. Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Comm., 2016-Ohio-7152; Ohio Turnpike Comm. v. Spellman, 2010-Ohio-1705.
Descriptions in Instruments
Williams v. Schneider, 2017-Ohio-9152.
Sufficiency of a description necessary for a mortgage to encumber real property. Williams v. Schneider, 2017-Ohio-9152.
RECENT NEWS
Michael J. Sikora III Spearheads First Change to Title Cure Law in 56 Years
FEATURED DOWNLOAD
Three Best Ways to Use Ohio's Title Cure Statute to Your Advantage
In the title insurance business, facing situations in which deeds and mortgages are challenged is inevitable. Did you know that there are three easy ways to use Ohio's Title Cure Statute to your advantage when these situations arise? Our firm invested over seven years of time and effort to lead the overhaul of this statute from start to finish. Download our free guide to learn the three best ways to use this resource to your advantage, thereby reducing your risk of exposure to a loss.
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