Benton County Firms Charged With Misuse of Funds

Old Republic National Title Insurance Co. (based in Minnesota, doing business in Arkansas) is none too happy with a pair of Benton County companies.

Documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas say Old Republic is seeking injunctive relief and damages in excess of $700,000. The defendants are Access Title Ltd. and Northwest Escrow Services Inc. Permission has been granted to add Dave and Rozalia McCabe as defendants.

The original complaint was filed in January. More recently Access Title asked for permission to file a cross complaint against Northwest Escrow.

Access and Northwest Escrow are charged with breach of contract, negligence, conversion, fraud and theft, among other things. Basically, the suit states, they misused escrow funds. According to the filing, the exact shortage amount of funds and damages to “ORNTIC and the public is not known and can only be determined by a complete and comprehensive accounting.”

A lawyer with knowledge of the case told us accounts pertaining to Access Title and Northwest Escrow were frozen in January. Although the two firms still exist, they are no longer operating.

Old Republic lawyers are in the discovery process. A trial date of February 2011 has been set.