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11) Reinsurance, Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Notes  
11) Reinsurance, Commitments and Contingencies

11)    Reinsurance, Commitments and Contingencies

 

Reinsurance

 

The Company follows the procedure of reinsuring risks in excess of a specified limit, which ranges from $25,000 to $100,000. The Company is liable for these amounts in the event such reinsurers are unable to pay their portion of the claims. The Company has also assumed insurance from other companies.

 

Mortgage Loan Loss Settlements

 

Future loan losses can be extremely difficult to estimate. However, management believes that the Company’s reserve methodology and its current practice of property preservation allow it to estimate its potential losses on loans sold. The estimated liability for indemnification losses is included in other liabilities and accrued expenses and, as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the balances were $2,171,000 and $628,000, respectively.

 

Mortgage Loan Loss Litigation

 

Lehman Brothers Holdings Litigation – Delaware and New York

 

In January 2014, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (“Lehman Holdings”) entered into a settlement with the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) concerning the mortgage loan claims that Fannie Mae had asserted against Lehman Holdings, which were based on alleged breaches of certain representations and warranties by Lehman Holdings in the mortgage loans it had sold to Fannie Mae.  Lehman Holdings acquired these loans from Aurora Bank, FSB, formerly known as Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB, which in turn purchased the loans from

certain residential mortgage loan originators, including SecurityNational Mortgage. A settlement based on similar circumstances was entered into between Lehman Holdings and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) in February 2014.

 

Lehman Holdings filed a motion in May 2014 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York to require the mortgage loan originators, including SecurityNational Mortgage, to engage in non-binding mediations of their alleged indemnification claims against the mortgage loan originators relative to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac settlements with Lehman Holdings.  The mediation was not successful in resolving any issues between SecurityNational Mortgage and Lehman Holdings. 

 

On January 26, 2016, SecurityNational Mortgage filed a declaratory judgment action against Lehman Holdings in the Superior Court for the State of Delaware.  In the Delaware action, SecurityNational Mortgage asserted its right to obtain a declaration of rights in that there are allegedly millions of dollars in dispute with Lehman Holdings pertaining to approximately 136 loans.  SecurityNational Mortgage sought a declaratory judgment as to its rights as it contends that it has no liability to Lehman Holdings as a result of Lehman Holdings’ settlements with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Lehman Holdings filed a motion in the Delaware court seeking to stay or dismiss the declaratory judgment action.  On August 24, 2016, the Court ruled that it would exercise its discretion to decline jurisdiction over the action and granted Lehman Holdings’ motion to dismiss.

 

On February 3, 2016, Lehman Holdings filed an adversary proceeding against approximately 150 mortgage loan originators, including SecurityNational Mortgage, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York seeking a declaration of rights similar in nature to the declaratory judgment that SecurityNational Mortgage sought in its Delaware lawsuit, and for damages relating to the alleged obligations of the defendants under the indemnification provisions of the alleged agreements, in amounts to be determined at trial, including interest, attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Lehman Holdings in enforcing the obligations of the defendants. No response was required to be filed relative to the Complaint or the Amended Complaint dated March 7, 2016. A Case Management Order was entered on November 1, 2016. 

 

On December 27, 2016, pursuant to the Case Management Order, Lehman Holdings filed a Second Amended Complaint against SecurityNational Mortgage, which eliminates the declaratory judgment claim but retains a similar claim for damages as in the Complaint.  The case is presently in a motion period. Many of the defendants, including SecurityNational Mortgage, filed a joint motion in the case asserting that the Bankruptcy Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction concerning the matter and that venue is improper. Lehman Holdings’ response memorandum was filed on May 31, 2017 and a reply memorandum of the defendants filing the motion was filed on July 14, 2017. A hearing date for the motion has not been set. No Answer to the Second Amended Complaint is required to be filed by SecurityNational Mortgage pending further order of the Court.  SecurityNational Mortgage denies that it has any liability to Lehman Holdings and intends to vigorously protect and defend its position.

 

 

Other Contingencies and Commitments

The Company has entered into commitments to fund construction and land development loans and has also provided financing for land acquisition and development. As of September 30, 2017, the Company’s commitments were approximately $69,601,000 for these loans, of which $41,307,000 had been funded. The Company will advance funds once the work has been completed and an independent inspection is made. The maximum loan commitment ranges between 50% and 80% of appraised value. The Company receives fees and interest for these loans and the interest rate is generally fixed 5.50% to 8.00% per annum. Maturities range between six and eighteen months.

 

The Company belongs to a captive insurance group for certain casualty insurance, worker compensation and liability programs. Insurance reserves are maintained relative to these programs. The level of exposure from catastrophic events is limited by the purchase of stop-loss and aggregate liability reinsurance coverage. When estimating the insurance liabilities and related reserves, the captive insurance management considers a number of factors, which include historical claims experience, demographic factors, severity factors and valuations provided by independent third-party actuaries. If actual claims or adverse development of loss reserves occurs and exceed these estimates, additional reserves may be required. The estimation process contains uncertainty since captive insurance management must use judgment to estimate the ultimate cost that will be incurred to settle reported claims and unreported claims for incidents incurred but not reported as of the balance sheet date.

 

The Company is a defendant in various other legal actions arising from the normal conduct of business. Management believes that none of the actions will have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. Based on management’s assessment and legal counsel’s representations concerning the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes, no amounts have been accrued for the above claims in the consolidated financial statements.

 

The Company is not a party to any other material legal proceedings outside the ordinary course of business or to any other legal proceedings, which, if adversely determined, would have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations.