Smith, Gildea & Schmidt and Joseph, Greenwald & Laake Announce $16.2 MM Settlement for Wells Fargo, Genuine Title Customers

On Feb. 4, 2016, in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC and Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA filed a Motion to Approve the Settlement for the amount of $16.2 million on behalf of more than 9,000 consumers alleged to be victims of an illegal kickback scheme involving Genuine Title of Owings Mills, Md.

The lawsuit alleged that from 2009 through early 2014, Genuine Title provided kickbacks to Wells Fargo licensed mortgage brokers in exchange for referring borrowers to Genuine Title for title insurance and settlement services. Approximately 9,500 loans originated by the defendant, Wells Fargo, were involved in this settlement. Wells Fargo is responsible for the payment of settlement funds, which will be awarded within 90 days after finality of the settlement.

“It is gratifying to help those who were victimized unknowingly by Genuine Title. These types of back room deals have no business in the real estate industry,” said Michael Paul Smith, a partner with Smith, Gildea & Schmidt who represented the plaintiffs in this case along with Timothy Maloney of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake.

Wells Fargo is the first lender to settle in the Genuine Title lawsuits. Smith, Gildea & Schmidt and Joseph, Greenwald & Laake currently have cases against nine banks/mortgage companies, Genuine Title and three of its sham marketing companies.

“Clients at the settlement table had no way of knowing about these kickbacks,” said Maloney. “We are happy this lawsuit brought these practices to light and that we have been able to obtain a significant recovery for consumers of title services.”

About Smith, Gildea & Schmidt, LLC

Smith, Gildea & Schmidt is a regional law firm with 13 lawyers whose practice areas include complex civil litigation, land use, business law, estates and trusts, governmental affairs, and domestic relations, among others. The firm’s clients range from multinational corporations to individuals with particular legal needs. The land use attorneys have an active practice that encompasses most of the jurisdictions in the state of Maryland. The complex civil litigation section has vast courtroom experience in both the federal and state courts.

About Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, PA

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A., is one of the most trusted law firms serving Washington, D.C., and the suburban Maryland area. For more than 40 years, the law firm has represented a variety of clients, including individuals, small businesses and multimillion-dollar corporations. From simple to complex legal needs, our law firm is prepared to deliver strategic solutions with high standards.