First American Title Insurance Company, Inc. v. First Title Service of the Florida Keys, Inc.
Supreme Court of Florida
457 So.2d 467 (1984)
Relevant factsFree
First American Title Insurance (plaintiff) relied on abstracts prepared by First Title Service (defendant) for a real estate transaction and issued a title policy to the purchasers and their lender; after closing, an undisclosed judgment lien surfaced, costing First American Title Insurance $75,000 to satisfy. It sued First Title Service for damages, but the trial court dismissed for lack of privity between the insurer and the abstracter, and the appellate court affirmed.
IssueFree
Whether, under Florida law, a title abstracter may be liable to a third party for damages arising from a faulty abstract when the abstracter knew or should have known the third party would rely on it.