Alberton v. Commonwealth Land Title Insurance

299 F.R.D. 109, 88 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 412, 2014 WL 1643705, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57733
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 06-3755
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 299 F.R.D. 109 (Alberton v. Commonwealth Land Title Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alberton v. Commonwealth Land Title Insurance, 299 F.R.D. 109, 88 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 412, 2014 WL 1643705, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57733 (E.D. Pa. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge.

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................110

II. BACKGROUND.........................................................Ill

A. Factual Background..................................................Ill

B. Procedural History...................................................Ill

III. DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DECERTIFY...............................112

A. Standard of Review...................................................112

B. Applicable Law......................................................113

1. UTPCPL........................................................113

2. Class Action Certification..........................................114

a. Commonality.................................................114

b. Typicality....................................................114

C. Revisiting Certification ...............................................115

1. UTPCPL as the Underlying Claim..................................115

2. Requirements of Section 5.3 and Section 5.6 of the TIRBOP Manual

During the Class Period.........................................115

a. The 2005 Amendments Do Not Interpret or Alter the pre-2005

TIRBOP Manual............................................115

b. The TIRBOP Manual During the Class Period....................116

c. A Prior Institutional First Mortgage is Not “Evidence” of a

Prior Title Insurance Policy..................................116

3. Plaintiffs Claims Cannot Satisfy the Commonality or Typicality

Requirements of Rule 23 ........................................119

IV. CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT..........................119

V. CONCLUSION................... .....................................120

I. INTRODUCTION

This case involves a class action brought against Commonwealth Land Title Insurance (“Defendant”) on behalf of individuals who allegedly were overcharged for title insurance purchased between July 25, 2000, and August 1, 2005. Defendant is in the business

of selling title insurance policies. The rates that Defendant may charge for its policies are governed by the Title Insurance Rating Bureau of Pennsylvania Manual (the “TIR-BOP Manual”).1 The issue before the Court is whether the Defendant failed to charge the appropriate discount rate for certain qualified purchasers of title insurance.

[111]*111Pending before the Court are Defendant’s Motion to Decertify the Class and the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The TIRBOP Manual sets forth the following mandatory three-tiered pricing structure: (1) Default Rate — applicable when a purchaser does not qualify for a special rate; (2) Reissue Rate — 90% of the Default Rate and applicable when a property owner purchases title insurance within ten years of obtaining a policy on the same property; and (3) Refinance Rate — 80% of the Reissue Rate and applicable when a property owner purchases title insurance within three years of obtaining a policy on the same property.

Section 5.3 of the pre-2005 TIRBOP Manual provides the following with respect to eligibility for the Reissue Rate:2

A purchaser of a title insurance policy shall be entitled to purchase this coverage at the reissue rate if the real property to be insured is identical to or is part of real property insured 10 years immediately pri- or to the date the insured transaction closes when evidence of the prior policy is produced notwithstanding the amount of coverage provided by the earlier policy.

TIRBOP Manual § 5.3.

Section 5.6 of the pre-2005 TIRBOP Manual provides the following with respect to eligibility for the Refinance Rate:

When a refinance or substitution loan is made within 3 years from the date of closing of a previously insured mortgage or fee interest and the premises to be insured are identical to or part of the real property previously insured and there has been no change in the fee simple ownership, the Charge shall be 80% of the reissue rate.

Id. § 5.6. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant did not adhere to the mandatory pricing scheme established by these sections by failing to charge the appropriate discounted rate for qualified purchasers of title insurance.

B. Procedural History

This case has a long and complex procedural history. On July 25, 2006, the Complaint was filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia County. Defendants removed the Complaint on August 23, 2006. After the parties conducted some class discovery, on January 31, 2008, the Court entered an order conditionally certifying the class (the “Certification Order”). The Certification Order established two subclasses, pursuant to the following class definition:

The class shall consist of all persons or entities who, from July 25, 2000 until August 1, 2005, paid premiums for the purchase of title insurance from defendant Commonwealth Title Insurance Company, in connection with a refinance of a mortgage or fee interest with respect to real property located in Pennsylvania that was insured by a prior title insurance policy within ten years of the refinance transaction, and were not charged the applicable Reissue Rate or Refinance Rate discount for title insurance on file with the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner. The class shall be divided into two subclasses. Subclass A shall include all class members whose purchase of insurance from Commonwealth was made within the three years of the prior purchase of title insurance. Subclass B shall include all class members whose purchase of insurance from Commonwealth was made more than three years but within ten years of the date of the prior purchase of title insurance.

Alberton v. Commw. Land Title Ins. Co., 247 F.R.D. 469, 482-83 (E.D.Pa.2008), rev’d on other grounds, Hunt v. U.S. Tobacco Co., 538 F.3d 217 (3d Cir.2008). The Certification Order specified that the class was certified on a conditional basis and final certification was contingent on the appointment of a named plaintiff to represent Subclass B. Id. at 483.

On March 13, 2008, a Second Amended Complaint was filed that identified Plaintiff [112]*112Mark C. Kessler as a member of Subclass B. On January 27, 2010, the Court entered an Order approving Mark C. Kessler as the class representative for Subclass B. On March 17, 2010, the Court approved Plaintiffs’ Proposed Class Notice Plan.

On June 15, 2010, the case was stayed pending the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in White v.

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Bluebook (online)
299 F.R.D. 109, 88 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 412, 2014 WL 1643705, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57733, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alberton-v-commonwealth-land-title-insurance-paed-2014.