State Says Lawyers & Commonwealth Title|Companies Are Going Down the Tubes

LINCOLN, Neb. (CN) – Nebraska sued Lawyers Title Insurance and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance in separate complaints, claiming that to allow them to keep operating would be “hazardous to its insureds, creditors, and the public.”     Lawyers’ policyholders surplus for the quarters ending Sept. 30 declined by 58% from 2007 to 2008, from $203 million in $129 million – a decrease of $74 million, the state says, “constitution a financial condition which renders the continuation of Lawyers’ business hazardous to its insureds, creditors, and the public.”     The state seeks an injunction and appointment of a rehabilitator.     For the same quarters, Commonwealth’s policyholders surplus sank by 69%, the state says, from $276 million to $164 million – a decrease of $112 million.