(Court opinion corrected 2/3/16.) Consolidated class action appeal, in which Plaintiffs allege that title companies made illegal kickback payments by splitting fee with attorneys who also served as title agents, for their referral of business to title companies in violation of Illinois Title Insurance Act and Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. Payments by title companies to attorney agents were not prohibited under Section 2607 of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), where attorney agents provided settlement services in return for the payment, and the reasonableness of the monetoary amount of those payments is irrelevant. Thus, Plaintiffs failed to establish a violation of Title Act and Consumer Fraud Act, claims which are both premised on violation of Section 2607. (LAVIN, concurring, PUCINSKI, dissenting.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Consumer Fraud Act