Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I am not an expert in title insurance activity, but since they were holding the money in escrow for the time that escrow closed, escrow has closed in that it wil not go through. There is no escrow left; is it their position that the seller can not sell the property because you have not signed any documents releasing the premises form escrow. The documents state that escrow must close by X date; that date having passed, the only possibilities are escrow has been extended [no] or it has expired, at which time your money is supposed to be returned to you.

Send a letter to the title insurance company stating something like the above and telling them the money i sneeded for another escrow and if not obtained that property can not be purchased and the seller of the first property and the tilte company are both liable for damages suffered. Point out that the seller had no right to withhold signing the release of funds agreement.

Also, why did the property drop out of escrow? You might have a cause of action against the seller for that also.

Mr. Shers most certainly is not an expert in title company obligations. He's also a bit fuzzy on the whole concept of escrow if he thinks that the escrow has closed or that there is any time limit on the escrow itself. He is absolutely wrong that there is no escrow left. Once a party delivers anything into escrow, the escrow continues to exist until the escrow holder receives identical instructions from all parties to the escrow as to what to do with the things deposited into escrow. It would be a fundamental breach of an escrow holder's fiduciary duties as an escrow holder to do anything with any funds or anything else deposited into the escrow without matching mutual instructions. The document that states that escrow must close by x date is in a contract between the parties. It is not an instruction to the escrow holder. Failure to close is a breach of the contract, not an instruction to the escrow holder. The escrow holder is most certainly not obligated to make a determination who is liable for the failure to close, and pay the deposit to the non-breaching party as is required in almost all real estate sales contracts. So you have two choices. You can ask the escrow holder to file an interpleader action, which is a proceeding in which a party in posession of something but asserts no claim to it sues all parties asserting competing claims to it for a determination of who is entitled to it. The escrow holder will be reluctant to do that, but eventually will have to if no one else does anything. The other option is simply to sue the other party to the sale contract for breach of the contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. If, as you say, it is undisputed you are entitled to the deposit, it is a breach of the contract and the implied covenant not to sign a release of the funds from escrow. So that is probably your most direct legal option.