B of A, Great Western Sued Over Title Delays

Customers of BankAmerica Corp. and Great Western Financial Corp. are suing the banks over delays in returning property titles after the customers had repaid their mortgages. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mitchell has upheld an order to certify Coldiron vs. Bank of America as a class action. As many as 575,000 customers who paid the title conveyance fee from April 1993 to the present are eligible. The Coldiron suit, filed in June 1994, said BankAmerica and Great Western charged as much as $65 for reconveying titles to borrowers, but failed to perform this service in the time mandated by state laws, the suit said. BankAmerica officials could not be reached immediately for comment. BankAmerica shares fell 75 cents to close at $67.63 on the New York Stock Exchange. Great Western parent Washington Mutual’s shares rose $1.88 to close at $64.94 on Nasdaq.