Business

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008 State lowers fine for Stewart TItle Herald Staff Stewart Title of Snohomish County, earlier fined nearly $2 million for repeatedly violating a law against providing real estate agents with excessive gifts and incentives, has agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve the issue, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said Wednesday. Kreidler said the agreement calls for a $400,000 fine, with the suspension of $150,000 of that amount with the successful completion of a compliance plan. Stewart was fined in August 2007 for what Kreidler called "blatant disregard" of the ban on gifts and incentives designed to convince real estate agents to steer title insurance businesses to Stewart. By law, such gifts are limited to $25 per year per person. Kreidler cited 195 violations that he said his office had discovered in an investigation, fining Stewart $10,000 for each one. Among the violations were what Kreidler described as desk fees -- payments of as much as $1,000 from Stewart to real estate agencies for desks in their offices that were largely or entirely unused. Kreidler issue a cease and desist order against the company, which has declined to comment about the allegations other than to say it was cooperating with Kreidler's office. In the settlement document, Stewart agreed to pay $250,000 within 30 days. The other $150,000 will be suspended as long as the company complies with state law for the next two years. The settlement notes that Stewart's agreement to the fine is not an admission of guilt or liability. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

1. Man arrested in fatal shooting of brother 2. Highway 9 crash victims memorialized 3. Taxes needed to close state's growing deficit? 4. Confrontation led to elderly man's death, police say 5. Fire sends shoppers fleeing JC Penney at Alderwood 6. Snohomish salon owner has a venture with style 7. Pearl Harbor's voices of the past 8. Vikings’ Henderson breaks leg against Cardinals 9. Boeing shares soar as 787 first flight draws near 10. New law aims to deny some felons bail 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Wildcats fall to familar foe in semis • ‘Nutcracker' times three • Road warrior • Mavericks reloading • Holiday Lightings & Santa Sightings • Cities prepare for winter blast repeat • Wolfpack duo takes last shot at state tourney • This Weekend in Your Town • Tips for the stormy season • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million