FULTON COUNTY DATA BREACH IMPACTS

As you are likely aware, on January 27th Fulton County fell victim to a ransomware attack. The attack shut down phone lines and computer systems leaving everyone unable to access the court civil records, probate records, water billing systems, and the Fulton County Tax Commissioner website. This is not an exhaustive list of everything that has been affected as experts are still working to repair the damage. The good news is that government officials are reporting that the hacker group responsible for the attack has been shut down. The bad news is that cyber security experts are now working on their own to assess and repair the damage done.


How does this affect you and your clients you may ask? For the foreseeable future, sellers are going to be required to provide the relevant information needed to clear title. Because there is no way to access the tax records, the civil records, the probate records or the water bill records, sellers now have to provide satisfactory proof.


However, this may not be the case with every law firm. Not every law firm is able to close transactions in Fulton County if their title underwriters are not confident in the law firms ability to get and evaluate the information appropriately. We, at Campbell and Brannon, have been able to use our good standing with our title insurance companies to allow our Fulton County deals to close. Many law firms are not able to do this as their risk profile with the title underwriters is not as strong as ours. Each title company has a slightly different list of requirements but the basics are as listed below.
  

1. If we have a closing with an estate or divorce, the sellers are going to have provide copies of probate docs (Letter’s Testamentary and Will) and divorce documents (Settlement Agreements, etc.). This will likely involve getting their divorce or probate attorney’s help.

1. We will also have to have the sellers provide us with copies of their tax bills and water bills and proof of payment. Providing proof of paid taxes is easy if they have an escrow account. They can provide us with a copy of their escrow statement or their 1098. Sellers without escrow accounts will have to dig in and find proof.

1. If the seller can’t provide the above information, it is likely these closings may be delayed in every instance with every law firm until satisfactory proof can be obtained.

The contract covers the buyers already as it puts the onus on the seller to provide all the information that closing attorneys require/ask for in order to clear title. If the sellers are unable to do so, they are in default.


If you want to add a stipulation to your contract to further protect your buyers, we recommend something like: 
“Seller agrees to cooperate and promptly provide all information requested from the closing attorney. Should the seller fail to promptly provide this information resulting in a delay or inability to close on time, then buyer shall have the right to terminate the agreement without penalty and receive a full refund of the earnest money.”
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