MANAHAWKIN – A title insurance company with New Jersey headquarters in Camden County, and an office in Manahawkin has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit that could result in cash benefits to area property owners.
Surety Title Insurance Company is considered one of the top title companies doing business in Ocean County. The class action lawsuit filed against the company alleges they overcharged fees for various services associated with real estate closings.
The settlement offers potential refunds for anyone allegedly charged excessive fees between November 29, 2016, and July 12, 2023, while using Surety Title Insurance Company as their closing agent.
Local property owners who used Surety Title Insurance Company during this time period may be considered eligible members to the class action settlement. Claim forms (which can be found at viggianonewjerseytitlesettlement.com), must be submitted no later than November 9, 2023.
In addition to a $3 Customer Relations Award, Surety has agreed to issue a check for a full refund for the overcharged fees.
Surety has not admitted any wrongdoing or liability to members of the class action lawsuit in exchange for settlement of the claims.
New Jersey law sets limits on how much can be charged for closing costs. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Russell J. Viggiano, and others, accuses Surety Title Insurance Company of systematically overcharging customers for six specific charges: Settlement Fee, Record Notice of Settlement Fees, Tax Search Fees, Upper Court/US Patriot Search Fees, Corporate Status Search Fees, and Tidelands Search Fees.
By way of example, the lawsuit alleges that when Viggiano bought his shore home in 2020, Surety charged a settlement fee of $500, which was split between the buyer and seller. The lawsuit contends that this was $200 more than the fee allowed by the NJ Rates Manual at the time.
Other allegations contained in the lawsuit accuse Surety of uniformly charging for services, regardless of the actual associated cost. New Jersey has strict laws that prohibit or limit these types of overcharges.
In this transaction alone, Surety is accused of overcharging Viggiano $288.50 in closing costs.
Surety has agreed to pay up to $2,500 to Viggiano as the named representative for the class action suit. Additionally, the title insurance company plans to pay $80,000 to the class action attorneys in the settlement over allegations that the company overcharged customers for closing costs.
As part of the class action settlement, Surety will also make some changes to the way they communicate fees with their customers by sending letters to estimate them at the start of all transactions.
Surety also has agreed to self-audit all fees charged to customers and make refunds for any found to be excessive going forward.
The settlement is intended to settle all claims against Surety that arise from the company’s alleged overcharging practices. By participating in the settlement, class members will be releasing all such claims.
A hearing is scheduled for November 6, 2023, at 9 a.m., at the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Camden County, to determine whether the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable and should be approved.
For more information and to view the full Settlement Agreement, visit Class Counsel’s website at DeNittisLaw.com, or contact Surety Title Company or Class Counsel at the following email addresses: Email: Stephen DeNittis – SDeNittis@DeNittisLaw.com, Class Counsel or Email: Jay N. Varon – JVaron@Foley.com, Surety Title Company.
