First National Bank Win Narrows Genuine Title Class Lawsuit

First National Bank of Pennsylvania has significantly narrowed its potential exposure in a lawsuit over First Mariner Bank loans allegedly tainted by a kickback scheme involving the now-defunct title company, Genuine Title.

The US District Court for the District of Maryland agreed that the measure of any treble damages under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act should be based on the amounts the borrowers were allegedly overcharged for the title and settlement services.

If the plaintiffs had it their way, the damages calculation would be three times the entire cost of the allegedly tainted settlement services.

There was a split ...