CopyCited 83 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 28 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 119, 2003 Fla. LEXIS 165, 2003 WL 252130
...The attorney held the Hechtmans' funds in his attorney escrow account and subsequently misappropriated the funds for his own use. Section
627.792 makes title insurers liable for the defalcation of funds by their licensed title agents if the funds are held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473, Florida Statutes (1997). Specifically, section
627.792 provides as follows: A title insurer is liable for the defalcation, conversion, or misappropriation by a licensed title insurance agent of funds held in trust by the agent pursuant to s.
626.8473....
...Attorneys who are exempt from the title insurance licensing requirements may act as escrow agents and hold funds in their attorney trust accounts pursuant to Rules Regulating the Florida Bar 4-1.15, 5-1.1, and 5-1.2. Ordinarily, a nonattorney may not act as an escrow agent; however, the nonattorney may do so pursuant to section
626.8473 if he or she is licensed as a title insurance agent under section
626.8417....
...The Hechtmans argue that it is irrelevant whether the title insurance agent is acting pursuant to a license to practice law or pursuant to a license issued by the Department of Insurance, and it does not matter if their funds were held in escrow pursuant to the authority granted *996 by section 626.8473 or the authority of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar....
...and construe related provisions in harmony with one another. See M.W. v. Davis,
756 So.2d 90 (Fla.2000); Hawkins v. Ford Motor Co.,
748 So.2d 993 (Fla.1999). To that end, we are required to consider and give meaning to the Legislature's reference to section
626.8473 in section
627.792 and give meaning to the language which limits a title insurer's liability for defalcation of funds by its agents to those "funds held in trust by the agent pursuant to §
626.8473." §
627.792, Fla. Stat. (1997). Not all title insurance transactions involve funds held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473, and if the funds are not held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473, we cannot impute liability to the insurer....
...First, if we were to read the statute in the manner proposed by the Hechtmans, we would necessarily be required to ignore the language in the first sentence of the statute that limits liability for the defalcation of only those funds held in trust pursuant to section 626.8473....
...City of Oakland Park,
374 So.2d 461 (Fla. 1979)). In this case, section
627.792 serves the legitimate governmental purpose of providing an avenue of civil relief for a certain class of victims of defalcation, conversion, or misappropriation of funds held in escrow accounts pursuant to section
626.8473, as this particular class would not otherwise have a civil remedy....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 11266, 2010 WL 3023370
...Because substantial record evidence supports the trial court's findings that Coastal was not the designated title agent for any of the appellants' transactions and that the appellants' escrow deposits did not constitute funds held in trust pursuant to section 626.8473, Florida Statutes (2009), we affirm....
...The appellants then sought reimbursement for their escrow deposits from Lawyers Title pursuant to section
627.792, which imposes liability upon a title insurer for the defalcation of funds by their licensed title agents if the funds are held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473. Section
627.792, provides as follows: A title insurer is liable for the defalcation, conversion, or misappropriation by a licensed title insurance agent or agency of funds held in trust by the agent or agency pursuant to s.
626.8473....
...he same proportion that the premium remitted to it by the agent or agency during the 1-year period before the illegal act bears to the total premium remitted to all title insurers by the agent or agency during the same time period. (emphasis added). Section 626.8473, in turn, provides in relevant part as follows: (1) A title insurance agent may engage in business as an escrow agent as to funds received from others to be subsequently disbursed by the title insurance agent in connection with real...
...The appellants counterclaimed for a declaratory judgment that Lawyers Title was liable under the statute. The matter proceeded to a non-jury trial. Lawyers Title argued below that the escrow deposits that Coastal received from the appellants were not trust funds as defined by subsection 626.8473(1) because Coastal was never designated the closing agent for the appellants' transactions, and the deposits were received in Coastal's limited capacity as escrow agent and not in connection with a real estate closing transaction involving the issuance of a title commitment or policy. The appellants, on the other hand, argued that Coastal was the closing agent because of various oral representations made by the developer and Coastal and thus the escrow deposits were trust funds as defined by subsection 626.8473(1). The appellants also asserted that subsection 626.8473(1) permits a title agent to receive escrow deposits as an *417 escrow agent only when those deposits are contemplated to be used at closing for the issuance of title....
...The trial court found that Coastal was never designated as the title issuing agent for any of the appellants' transactions. As a result, "[b]ecause Coastal Title had not been designated as the title issuing agent in these transactions, these deposits did not constitute funds held in trust pursuant to section 626.8473, Florida Statutes....
...oes not protect the public from a title insurance agent who misappropriates any funds from a trust account, but rather, "limits a title insurer's liability for defalcation of funds by its agents to those `funds held in trust by the agent pursuant to § 626.8473.'" Subsection 626.8473(1) defines those funds as only those received by a title insurance agent "from others to be subsequently disbursed by the title insurance agent in connection with real estate closing transactions involving the issuance of title insurance binders, commitments, policies of title insurance, or guarantees of title." Here, there was sufficient evidence from which the trial court could find that the funds were not held by Coastal pursuant to section 626.8473....
...Accordingly, there is ample support in the record for the trial court's finding that Coastal was not the designated title agent of any of the appellants' transactions, and that the appellants' escrow deposits did not constitute funds held in trust pursuant to section 626.8473....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 19814, 2010 WL 5347628
...orida Statutes (2008). Section
627.792 provides in relevant part: "A title insurer is liable for the defalcation, conversion, or misappropriation by a licensed title insurance agent or agency of funds held in trust by the agent or agency pursuant to s.
626.8473." The defendants moved to dismiss Count I, arguing that the deposits were not "funds held in trust," because Flagler Title acted solely as an escrow agent, not as a closing or title-issuing agent....
...In Winkler,
41 So.3d at 417, this Court, citing the authority of the Florida Supreme Court, recognized that section
627.792 imputes liability to a title insurer only in the limited situation where the title insurer's agent misappropriates trust funds, as defined by section
626.8473. See Hechtman,
840 So.2d at 996 ("Not all title insurance transactions involve funds held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473, and if the funds are not held in trust pursuant to section
626.8473, we cannot impute liability to the insurer."). Section
626.8473(1) specifically defines trust funds as funds received by a title insurance agent "from others to be subsequently disbursed by the title insurance agent in connection with real estate closing transactions involving the issuance of tit...
...Furthermore, First American Title Insurance Co., not Flagler Title, issued the title commitment and was the designated title-issuing agent. Nevertheless, the plaintiff argues that the funds received by Flagler Title, and later misappropriated by Flagler Title's president, were trust funds as defined by section
626.8473(1), thereby exposing the defendants to liability pursuant to section
627.792....
...Coastal was a licensed title insurance agent of the title insurer. Id. However, the trial court found that because Coastal was never designated as the title-issuing or closing agent, the funds it received were not funds held in trust as defined by section
626.8473, and therefore, *334 section
627.792 did not impute liability to the title insurer....
...." Id. Thus, the rule of law embodied by Winkler is that where an otherwise-licensed title insurance agent receives escrow funds for a real estate transaction in its limited capacity as escrow agent, those deposits are not trust funds, as defined by section 626.8473....
...Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Fla., Inc.,
988 So.2d 654, 658 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), the conclusion is inescapable that Flagler Title received the plaintiff's funds in its limited capacity as escrow agent. Accordingly, we hold that the Winkler rule is applicable, the funds received by Flagler Title were not section
626.8473 trust funds, and Flagler Title's liability cannot be imputed to the defendants by operation of section
627.792....
