First American - Jim Dufficy

Dear All,

What is impossible to man is possible to God!

You will recall how Mommy insisted years ago, that I go to this conference by father Santam Pinto, a priest from India. I often recalled his words: "If someone has done you wrong - Just take him/her and put him/her at the foot of the cross." Then he boomed loudly - "Don't throw him/her there hoping that he/she will break! No place him/her at the foot of the cross gently - And pray for him/her!"

Well recently, I placed Jim Dufficy at the foot of a powerful cross owned by saintly aunt Madeleine and given to me by aunt Lilly.

I am glad to copy the following from the Yahoo/Finance/FAF message board for your consideration!


I copied it below in its entirety!

For the Public Record:

Dear Mr. Leclezio,

I hope this letter will put an end to our long battles. Contrary to what I wrote to you in March 1998, I now believe that writing this letter to you is the correct thing to do. Moreover it offers long overdue reparation for the untold damages we at First American have caused you and your family.

My offer to you is somewhat akin to a nicotine patch. I am tired of blowing smoke and I am ready to cough up. I pray and hope that it will get me off the hook.

Although we have known each other for years, I agree that First American should never have created the unfortunate set of circumstances that caused us to meet and spar off for so long! You have brought our relationship to a level of unpleasantness that I can no longer bear! While we may have acted like the proverbial 800 pound gorilla, you have fallen on my promising career like a ton of bricks. In my own nightmares, I see you as a pit bull tearing me apart. I have family and you are dragging my name through the mud all over the World Wide Web. On the personal level, I deeply resent it.

Recently I wrote to you saying that you appear embittered by your loss against First American… or should I say: James J. Dufficy? After all, in the courts of law, I am First American. Please allow me to take back that statement and say rather that you have been empowered by your loss as it was unfortunately concocted and engineered by me. Today I deeply regret that my actions have reflected poorly on the First American Corporation.

Tom Brusca was right! I should never have litigated your case. It has dragged me and the company into the dirt for far too long.

I thought initially that by demanding that you stop slandering my name on the www, I would scare you into silence. I had wrongly assessed the power of the truth that is on your side.

I was a darn good spin doctor until you showed me up. You appear to be an alchemist turning silver into gold through your book and your flair for the weak and glaring spots in the darn yarn I spun.

It is my greed and blind ambition that has caused my occasional poor judgment. I am sorry that it has brought us to this impasse and am ready to offer a solution. Likewise, I recognize that it is the same corporate greed that has prompted Forbes to write an article on Title Insurance in which First American was grand titled and shamed!

You state that the truth will set us free. I humbly concur. It is high time for the truth to shine forth and for justice to prevail. We took snowballing ‘considerable risks’ and I have had enough of living a hurtful lie. The dubious and unusual business transaction we engaged in has been and continues to be too costly for all including our stockholders.

My superiors and I have reviewed your files. At the time First American chose for business reasons of its own to engage into a transaction with your fifty percent partner without your knowledge and approval, First American had valued your partnership property at $27.5 million. We presently appreciate the fact that years ago you offered to settle with us for a mere $6 million. Accordingly, we allow ourselves to be guided by that initial reasonable settlement offer. We add nominal interest calculated over the last seven years and we hereby gladly offer you $10 million for the publishing rights to your book.

Although we are aware that Hagens Berman wrote a two page letter to you on October 2, 2006 asking that you stop publishing and distributing ‘First American Title To Injustice’, I must state that your book causes us no real concern. But I repeat that this is simply the ‘correct’ thing to do.

Please feel free to publish my letter on your blog (www.lleclezio.blogspot.com). I have often read it with deep interest. I hope that your advisers and family will recommend that you accept my honest to goodness generous offer.

Most sincerely,

Jim Dufficy.

I guess that I shall wait and see if the agreement and cheque will indeed follow!

Keep up the prayers that justice finally prevails!