First American Corporation’s track record:
Liars title insurance is a long established way of life at the First American Corporation.
In 1996 First American Title adopted the motto: ‘Insure anything – Litigate everything.
In the same year, First American Title Insurance admitted taking a considerable risk. It issued a ‘liars title insurance policy’ just to make a couple of thousand bucks and secure future business.
Has anything changed since?
According to law suits filed in 2010, First American did not hesitate in the mid 2000s to issue numerous ‘liars title insurance policies’ to make hundreds of thousands of dollars and secure big business.
The First American Corporation historical track record:
In 1996 no lender would lend money to my partner on our property without my signature.
A hard money lender agreed to make a loan to my partner subject to getting title insurance.
My partner sought title insurance behind my back from various title companies. All declined to issue title insurance without my knowledge and signature.
Only First American Title agreed to insure the loan subject to an indemnity agreement from my partner.
First American prepared and obtained the highly secret indemnity agreement from my partner prior to insuring the loan.
Obviously First American failed to disclose the existence of the indemnity agreement to the lender.
The lender made the loan.
When I found that my property had been illegally encumbered, I asked the lender what possessed him to make such a loan without my signature?
The hard money lender replied: “Why not? We knew you were of record. Indeed, First American provided us with a title report showing your interest in the property. We realized that First American was willing to insure a lie. There was smoke all over the deal. But First American was prepared to insure our loan. We would have been stupid not to buy the insurance policy. We bought the insurance and made the loan. How could we lose? It was like we were getting full coverage insurance after a fire had started!
Of course once the fire had engulfed everything, First American refused to live up to the considerable risk they deliberately took.
First American ignored and denied my claims and the lender’s claims. First American simply refused to pay. To make matters worse, First American did not even dare enforce the secret indemnity agreement they had secured to insure a blatant lie.
I consulted a leading title insurance attorney. After reviewing the case, Mr. Jerome Lasky of Moses and Singer, New York issued a letter of opinion addressed to me and to First American.
See excerpt from Mr J. Lasky’s letter:
http://books.google.mu/books?id=zXzilH1JfgUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=first+american+title+to+injustice&source=bl&ots=Dsm3cnKMyr&sig=eDvB8FsmlTzm6J0D9ktpQjVcqMQ&hl=en&ei=OeDsS6KhCZC-rAf87eC1Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
Upon receipt of Mr.Lasky’s letter, First American invited me to meet at their offices in Santa Ana, California.
At the meeting, James J. Dufficy, offered me $750,000 to settle.
See confirmation e-mail from First American counsel and senior claims officer, James J. Dufficy:
From :
Dufficy, Jim
Sent :
Monday, November 27, 2006 1:52 PM
To :
"Louis Leclezio"
CC :
"McMahon, Frank"
Subject :
RE: "No Duty to do the Correct Thing" (Dufficy) Louis: “For the record, maybe you'll remember how, before the litigation gotrunning at full speed, I agreed to meet you in Santa Ana and offered to
pay you $750,000.00”
That was about ten cents on the dollar.
I told Dufficy to keep his cents. I would keep my freedom of speech and my right to sue.
In the face of my refusal to settle, the First American senior executive, James J. Dufficy warned me that if I did not agree to settle, they had a battery of in house attorneys and many more for hire off the street. Dufficy tried to intimidate me by stating that First American and their attorneys had the power to drown me and my attorneys under paper work. They would make the case last until they bankrupted me and or my attorneys abandoned the case!
I sued.
My attorneys deposed various First American executives who had colluded to issue the ‘liars title insurance’.
Under oath, various First American executives acknowledged that they went out of their way to insure the loan behind my back.
For example, the following is an excerpt from the transcript of the deposition of Ad Zetz, a First American senior exec:
At page 102 line 6 of his deposition, my attorney, Carl Hagens asked Zetz::
(You or Your company) “… wanted to do this loan without Mr. Leclezio’s consent; isn’t that right?”
Under oath at line 8, Zetz answered: “Obvious, yes.”
Carl Hagens sought confirmation by asking:
“That’s obvious to you?”
At line 10 of his deposition transcript, Zetz again answered: “Yes”!
Zetz was one of the key figures participating clandestinely in that fraudulent liars title insurance transaction.
During the same deposition, when Carl Hagens went on to ask Zetz why his company would insure such a high risk loan; Without even blinking an eyelid and under oath Zetz casually replied:
“We had the chance to make a couple of thousand bucks – Why not”?
Another First American senior exec wrote in a memo: “It is worth taking this high risk in view of future business”!
Obviously, nothing has changed at the First American Corporation over the last 14 years.
In 2010, according to the Bank of America lawsuit, the First American Corporation denied or ignored most of Bank of America’s claims in 2008 and 2009. Thereafter, once again, in a typical attempt to drown Bank of America under paper work, last August, First American started sending more than 2,000 letters to the bank seeking information and documents related to the claims.
In my case, financially I was obviously no match for the First American Corporation and their battery of in house and outside lawyers for hire. When I was spent out, I hired an attorney on contingency. After two more years of litigation in a ‘no lose case’ according to the high profile attorney firm, I believe my attorney won big and I lost bigger.
Lawyers and executives for Bank of America, in your case, the stakes are high enough. Do not let the First American Corporation drown you under paper work. Do not negotiate a cheap settlement as Carrie Gaska of First American suggest you might do. Too often the First American Corporation has won by default or more fraudulent settlements. The result is unabated crime leading to losses in the millions for the many continues to be perpetrated by the First American Corporation. Wipe them out.
As Forbes pointed out in their November 13, 2006 issue the First American Corporation plays a key role in America’s richest real estate racket – An $18 billion a year hoax on the American public. Their product is outdated and unneeded. Even the more so when one considers the minimal percentage of claims under which First American has historically paid out. The Motto of First American: Insure anything – Litigate everything has paid off handsomely to the First American Corporation up to now!
I hope Bank of America sues right up to the winning post.
I pray and hope that NYAG, Andy Cuomo also wins his suit against First American.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Cuomo’s statement:
“First American helped set the current mortgage crisis in motion.”
The First American Corporation should pay the piper for all the international chaos they contributed to set in motion.
I’ll be glad to help establish with existing transcripts of depositions, testimony etc. that fraud and liars title insurance has been, is and will continue to be a systemic fraudulent way of life at the First American Corporation. Sadly up to now for the First American Corporation it has been: Business as usual…
References: Mr. Jerome Lasky’s opinion as reported in First American Title to Injustice – Pages 11 – 18. Google book search: ‘First American Title to Injustice’.
Liars title insurance is a long established way of life at the First American Corporation.
In 1996 First American Title adopted the motto: ‘Insure anything – Litigate everything.
In the same year, First American Title Insurance admitted taking a considerable risk. It issued a ‘liars title insurance policy’ just to make a couple of thousand bucks and secure future business.
Has anything changed since?
According to law suits filed in 2010, First American did not hesitate in the mid 2000s to issue numerous ‘liars title insurance policies’ to make hundreds of thousands of dollars and secure big business.
The First American Corporation historical track record:
In 1996 no lender would lend money to my partner on our property without my signature.
A hard money lender agreed to make a loan to my partner subject to getting title insurance.
My partner sought title insurance behind my back from various title companies. All declined to issue title insurance without my knowledge and signature.
Only First American Title agreed to insure the loan subject to an indemnity agreement from my partner.
First American prepared and obtained the highly secret indemnity agreement from my partner prior to insuring the loan.
Obviously First American failed to disclose the existence of the indemnity agreement to the lender.
The lender made the loan.
When I found that my property had been illegally encumbered, I asked the lender what possessed him to make such a loan without my signature?
The hard money lender replied: “Why not? We knew you were of record. Indeed, First American provided us with a title report showing your interest in the property. We realized that First American was willing to insure a lie. There was smoke all over the deal. But First American was prepared to insure our loan. We would have been stupid not to buy the insurance policy. We bought the insurance and made the loan. How could we lose? It was like we were getting full coverage insurance after a fire had started!
Of course once the fire had engulfed everything, First American refused to live up to the considerable risk they deliberately took.
First American ignored and denied my claims and the lender’s claims. First American simply refused to pay. To make matters worse, First American did not even dare enforce the secret indemnity agreement they had secured to insure a blatant lie.
I consulted a leading title insurance attorney. After reviewing the case, Mr. Jerome Lasky of Moses and Singer, New York issued a letter of opinion addressed to me and to First American.
See excerpt from Mr J. Lasky’s letter:
http://books.google.mu/books?id=zXzilH1JfgUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=first+american+title+to+injustice&source=bl&ots=Dsm3cnKMyr&sig=eDvB8FsmlTzm6J0D9ktpQjVcqMQ&hl=en&ei=OeDsS6KhCZC-rAf87eC1Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
Upon receipt of Mr.Lasky’s letter, First American invited me to meet at their offices in Santa Ana, California.
At the meeting, James J. Dufficy, offered me $750,000 to settle.
See confirmation e-mail from First American counsel and senior claims officer, James J. Dufficy:
From :
Dufficy, Jim
Sent :
Monday, November 27, 2006 1:52 PM
To :
"Louis Leclezio"
CC :
"McMahon, Frank"
Subject :
RE: "No Duty to do the Correct Thing" (Dufficy) Louis: “For the record, maybe you'll remember how, before the litigation gotrunning at full speed, I agreed to meet you in Santa Ana and offered to
pay you $750,000.00”
That was about ten cents on the dollar.
I told Dufficy to keep his cents. I would keep my freedom of speech and my right to sue.
In the face of my refusal to settle, the First American senior executive, James J. Dufficy warned me that if I did not agree to settle, they had a battery of in house attorneys and many more for hire off the street. Dufficy tried to intimidate me by stating that First American and their attorneys had the power to drown me and my attorneys under paper work. They would make the case last until they bankrupted me and or my attorneys abandoned the case!
I sued.
My attorneys deposed various First American executives who had colluded to issue the ‘liars title insurance’.
Under oath, various First American executives acknowledged that they went out of their way to insure the loan behind my back.
For example, the following is an excerpt from the transcript of the deposition of Ad Zetz, a First American senior exec:
At page 102 line 6 of his deposition, my attorney, Carl Hagens asked Zetz::
(You or Your company) “… wanted to do this loan without Mr. Leclezio’s consent; isn’t that right?”
Under oath at line 8, Zetz answered: “Obvious, yes.”
Carl Hagens sought confirmation by asking:
“That’s obvious to you?”
At line 10 of his deposition transcript, Zetz again answered: “Yes”!
Zetz was one of the key figures participating clandestinely in that fraudulent liars title insurance transaction.
During the same deposition, when Carl Hagens went on to ask Zetz why his company would insure such a high risk loan; Without even blinking an eyelid and under oath Zetz casually replied:
“We had the chance to make a couple of thousand bucks – Why not”?
Another First American senior exec wrote in a memo: “It is worth taking this high risk in view of future business”!
Obviously, nothing has changed at the First American Corporation over the last 14 years.
In 2010, according to the Bank of America lawsuit, the First American Corporation denied or ignored most of Bank of America’s claims in 2008 and 2009. Thereafter, once again, in a typical attempt to drown Bank of America under paper work, last August, First American started sending more than 2,000 letters to the bank seeking information and documents related to the claims.
In my case, financially I was obviously no match for the First American Corporation and their battery of in house and outside lawyers for hire. When I was spent out, I hired an attorney on contingency. After two more years of litigation in a ‘no lose case’ according to the high profile attorney firm, I believe my attorney won big and I lost bigger.
Lawyers and executives for Bank of America, in your case, the stakes are high enough. Do not let the First American Corporation drown you under paper work. Do not negotiate a cheap settlement as Carrie Gaska of First American suggest you might do. Too often the First American Corporation has won by default or more fraudulent settlements. The result is unabated crime leading to losses in the millions for the many continues to be perpetrated by the First American Corporation. Wipe them out.
As Forbes pointed out in their November 13, 2006 issue the First American Corporation plays a key role in America’s richest real estate racket – An $18 billion a year hoax on the American public. Their product is outdated and unneeded. Even the more so when one considers the minimal percentage of claims under which First American has historically paid out. The Motto of First American: Insure anything – Litigate everything has paid off handsomely to the First American Corporation up to now!
I hope Bank of America sues right up to the winning post.
I pray and hope that NYAG, Andy Cuomo also wins his suit against First American.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Cuomo’s statement:
“First American helped set the current mortgage crisis in motion.”
The First American Corporation should pay the piper for all the international chaos they contributed to set in motion.
I’ll be glad to help establish with existing transcripts of depositions, testimony etc. that fraud and liars title insurance has been, is and will continue to be a systemic fraudulent way of life at the First American Corporation. Sadly up to now for the First American Corporation it has been: Business as usual…
References: Mr. Jerome Lasky’s opinion as reported in First American Title to Injustice – Pages 11 – 18. Google book search: ‘First American Title to Injustice’.
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