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Final Copy 288 Ga. 312

S09G1783. FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY v. KEYINGHAM INVESTMENTS, LLC et al.

NAHMIAS, Justice. We granted certiorari in this case to consider whether a condition of a title insurance commitment was satisfied when the borrower who executed a security deed, it is later discovered, was an imposter who forged the true owner's name on the deed. The Court of Appeals held that the condition was satisfied, see Keyingham Investments v. Fidelity Nat. Title Ins. Co., 298 Ga. App. 467 (680 SE2d 442) (2009), and we affirm. 1. The Court of Appeals's opinion contains a detailed account of the facts, see Keyingham, 298 Ga. App. at 468-469, and they will only be reiterated here as necessary. The title commitment condition at issue was as follows: Documents satisfactory to the Company creating the interest in the land and/or mortgage to be insured must be signed, delivered and recorded: a) Execution, recording and delivery of a Security 1

Deed in the original amount of [$]106000, in favor of [the lenders], to secure subject property. Relying on Glass v. Stewart Title Guaranty Co., 181 Ga. App. 804 (354 SE2d 187) (1987), Fidelity National Title Insurance Company ("Fidelity") contends that a forged deed is void ab initio and does not create an interest in the property and that, without such an interest, no title insurance can issue. Glass stated this proposition but cited only cases addressing whether someone who unknowingly buys property based on a forgery holds superior title to the true owner, not cases addressing whether title insurance purchased by the unknowing buyer covers the risk of a forgery. See id. at 805. As properly recognized by the Court of Appeals in this case, Fidelity's argument "ignores that one of the very purposes of title insurance is to protect a party from the consequences of forgery in the chain of title, which necessarily results in the party not receiving an interest in the land." Keyingham, 298 Ga. App. at 471 (citing numerous authorities) (emphasis omitted). See also FTC v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 504 U. S. 621, 626 (112 SC 2169, 119 LE2d 410) (1992) (explaining that title insurance protects an insured from "losses resulting from title defects not discoverable from a search of the public records, such as forgery, missing heirs, previous 2

marriages, impersonation, or confusion in names"); Michael Braunstein, Structural Change and Inter-Professional Competitive Advantage: An Example Drawn From Residential Real Estate Conveyancing, 62 Mo. L. Rev. 241, 248 (1996) ("[T]itle insurance provides coverage against hidden risks. Thus, title insurance protects the purchaser against such defects as a forged, stolen or undelivered deed."). Title insurance protects against "defective titles," OCGA

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