Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said Thursday that it plans to take a $25 million charge in the second quarter to account for a lawsuit against one of its title insurance units.
The company said in a regultory filing that a jury awarded competitor Fidelity National Financial Inc. $41.3 million. The case stems from a worker who tried to bring files from Fidelity to First American, which was accused of aiding the worker.
The judgment included $6.3 million in compensation and $35 million in damages. The lawsuit involved a breach of fiduciary duty claim, according to the filing.
First American said it plans to appeal the case.
The company and its subsidiaries have been named in various class action lawsuits related to its title operations in recent years. Its Chicago Title Insurance Corp. unit lost a $43 million judgment in early 2005. That decision is under appeal.
Prior lawsuits have alleged that premiums charged to builders for title insurance policies violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and that First American units broke the law by failing to disclose the cost of certain services obtained from outside service providers.
