Bulletin: CO2013001

Dear Associates:

Please Note: This bulletin supersedes Colorado State Legal Bulletin CO2012005.

Stewart Title Guaranty Company has experienced significant claims because of outstanding rights to mineral and other substances that were not excepted in the title insurance policy.

These losses often have occurred because the search of title was not long enough to discover the severance of rights in mineral and other substances, or because the title insurance agent relied on a starter, such as a prior title insurance policy.

Company Policy:

For all Colorado Counties, always include in Schedule B any specific grant, reservation, or lease of minerals or other substances (such as caliche, gravel, rock, coal, lignite) that your search reflects. You should also add the following at the end of the specific exception (although the policy does not insure the title to any interest that is excepted): "The Company makes no representation as to the present ownership of any such interests. There may be leases, grants, exceptions or reservations of interests that are not listed."

For the following Colorado Counties: 

For the counties listed above add one of the following Options as an exception in Schedule B on any Commitment, Binder, or Policy, other than a Short Form Loan Policy, unless you secure Underwriter approval to remove or modify the exception. Deletion or modification of the exception generally will be based upon an extended search and examination required by the Underwriter and/or consideration of any state law reserving mineral or similar rights apart from patent reservations.

OPTION 1:

"Minerals of whatsoever kind, subsurface and surface substances, in, on, under and that may be produced from the Land, together with all rights, privileges, and immunities relating thereto, whether or not appearing in the Public Records or listed in Schedule B. "

OPTION 2:

If you currently have a combined patent and water exception, add the new mineral standard exception as item (d) to read as follows:

"(a) Unpatented mining claims; (b) reservations or exceptions in patents or in Acts authorizing the issuance thereof; (c) water rights, claims or title to water; (d) Minerals of whatsoever kind, subsurface and surface substances, in, on, under and that may be produced from the Land, together with all rights, privileges, and immunities relating thereto, whether or not the matters excepted under (a), (b), (c) or (d) are shown by the Public Records or listed in Schedule B."

OPTION 3:

If you currently have separate patent and water exceptions, add the new mineral exception as item (c) to the patent exception as follows:

"(a) Unpatented mining claims; (b) reservations or exceptions in patents or in Acts authorizing the issuance thereof; (c) Minerals of whatsoever kind, subsurface and surface substances, in, on, under and that may be produced from the Land, together with all rights, privileges, and immunities relating thereto, whether or not the matters excepted under (a), (b) or (c) are shown by the Public Records or listed in Schedule B."

A starter may not be relied upon for the search and examination required to remove this mineral standard exception.

FOR ALL OTHER COUNTIES IN COLORADO, you do not need to add the standard mineral exception set out in Option 1, Option 2 (d) or Option 3 (c) above if the property to be insured is within city limits or outside city limits and located within residential platted property.

The foregoing policy does not affect the potential availability of endorsements that provide coverage for damage to buildings or improvements on the land resulting from the future exercise of any right to use the surface of the land for the extraction or development of minerals or any other subsurface substances, such as the ALTA 9-06 series and the ALTA 35-06 series, pursuant to applicable Guidelines.

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

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