Bulletin: NY000115

Dear Associates:

The New York State Department of Insurance has recently approved a number of technical changes to previously filed title endorsements which become effective on May 1, 1996. These changes are not substantive in nature. They are intended to correct minor inconsistencies in the text of some of the endorsements and to eliminate confusion or ambiguity that may have existed in others.

The following is a brief summary of the endorsements which have been amended and the nature of the amendment. The endorsements, as amended, are available through the references at the end of this bulletin.

Leasehold Endorsement (Owner's) -

Prior to the Amendment, when the Leasehold Endorsement was used together with the Waiver of Arbitration Endorsement, there was some confusion in determining which provisions of the Conditions and Stipulations of the 10-17-92 ALTA Policy were being deleted. In order to clarify this ambiguity, the amendment deleted the following language from the Leasehold Owner's Endorsement:

"Sections 14, 15, 16 and 17 of said Conditions and Stipulations are hereby renumbered 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively, and the following new Sections 14 and 15 are inserted into said Conditions and Stipulations."

The deleted language was replaced with the following sentence:

"The following new Sections 18 and 19 are inserted into said Conditions and Stipulations."

Leasehold Endorsement (Loan) -

A similar change was made in the Leasehold Loan Endorsement. The only difference is that the numbering of Paragraphs in the Loan Policy is different from that contained in the Owner's Policy.

For the record, the amendment deleted the following language from the Loan Endorsement:

"Sections 13, 14, 15 and 16 of said Conditions and Stipulations are hereby renumbered 15, 16, 17 and 18 respectively, and the following new Sections 13 and 14 are inserted into said Conditions and Stipulations."

The deleted language was replaced with the following sentence:

"The following new Section 17 and 18 are inserted into said Conditions and Stipulations."

TIRSA 8.1 Environmental Protection Lien Endorsement (Government) -

Prior to the amendment, the heading of this endorsement contained the following provision: "(For Mortgages made by the State of New York or a Public Benefit Corporation thereof and Federal Government Agencies)"

The amendment deletes only one (1) word, "by", and replaces it with the word "to", to make it clear that the endorsement is to be used in conjunction with mortgages made to the State of New York, not by the State of New York, or by a Public Benefit Corporation thereof and Federal Government Agencies.

Last Dollar Endorsement (Loan) -

This amendment, very technical in nature, was intended to more precisely identify certain terms used in the endorsement. It also added the phrase that "notwithstanding Section 9(b) of the Conditions and Stipulations of the Policy", which language was not expressed but could only be implied from the previous form of the endorsement.

First Loss Endorsement -

The recent amendment added the following phrase "(To be used in Multi-Site Transactions Only)". In addition, where the endorsement refers to property subject to the Company's right of subrogation, the amendment deleted an ambiguous term, "affected collateral", and replaced it with the "land described in Schedule A of this Policy".

The amended endorsements will be printed and available on Stewart title letterhead in the very near future. In the interim, if you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact Company Counsel.