The Oral Arguments in Roman Pino v. Bank of New York will be heard before the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, May 10, 2012 beginning at 9:00 AM.  In this case the court will be addressing the circumstances under which a voluntary dismissal (a final judgment or other court action) can be set aside long after the case is over, based on underlying fraud on the court.  FLTA and ALTA, represented by former Justice Ken Bell, have filed a joint Amicus brief in which we urge the court to protect innocent third party purchasers out of foreclosure from having their ownership rights overturned under such circumstances. 

More background on this case and copies of the various briefs can be found here.  The Oral Arguments can be watched live on http://www.wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/index.php.

While the certified question being addressed is narrow, the title industry was very concerned about the possibility of a sweeping ruling which might call into question the insurability of any REO property in light of widespread allegations of falsified documents and “robo-signing.”

Our thanks again to Justice Bell for his excellent brief and to the insurers who have so generously funded our amicus participation in this case.