The “kick off” luncheon meeting of the MLTA Title Counsel Committee took place on March 16 at the law offices of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, in Greenbelt, MD. The meeting was attended by 10-15 attorneys from various title insurance underwriters and agency members of MLTA. The group discussed the goals and plans for the Committee and, in particular, carried on a discussion of (1) the proposed amendments to the Maryland statutory requirements for attorney certification of various instruments (SB 376 and HB 595), as well as individual experiences with the attorney certification process and the potential liabilities associated with it; and (2) the Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. v Saddlebrook West Utility Company LLC case status, how agents are addressing the current risk and what the future may bring as far as legislation addressing the priority of utility liens, centralizing payment status sources. We also watched a portion of the Court of Appeals oral argument from March 6.

This new group is intended to be an interactive group and is open to attorneys and paralegals (agent and underwriter) who are current members of MLTA. The group plans to meet quarterly at different locations to try to draw a geographically diverse group. The second meeting took place June 8 at the Law Offices of Council Baradel located in Annapolis, Maryland.Topics during this meeting included E-notary, closing instruction letters, solar leases, and foreclosure titles.

If you are an attorney or paralegal and would like to join us, please contact MLTA at MLTA@mdlta.com to begin receiving notices of upcoming meetings.