Two borrowers filed a lawsuit against their title insurer, alleging the company had an agreement with numerous national delivery companies to refer the carriers to do overnight delivery services in exchange for kickbacks. The title insurer argued that delivery companies are not subject to RESPA, but the court disagreed.
Melissa Henson closed escrow on her home in February 2012. Chicago Title Co., a subsidiary of Fidelity National Financial, handled the escrow and charged Henson an overnight delivery fee of $13.81.
Keith Turner refinanced his home on Sept. 11, 2012. Lawyers Title, another Fidelity subsidiary, handled the escrow, and Turner was charged $19.98 for overnight deliveries.
Henson and Turner sued Fidelity, alleging that the company violated RESPA when it received marketing fees from delivery carriers UPS, Federal Express and OnTrac in exchange for the referral of business. The plaintiffs contended that Fidelity used its escrow subsidiaries to refer overnight delivery business to the carriers and, in turn, received a referral fee disguised as a “marketing fee.”
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