Woman sues after state allegedly seized accounts of title company

A woman is suing after her funds for a real estate closing were allegedly seized.

Maria Felix Rojas filed a lawsuit Nov. 27 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Stewart Title Co.

According to the complaint, Rojas was under contract to purchase a condominium in December 2011 and secured a loan from Libertyville Bank for $250,000.

Prior to the closing, the suit alleges that the state of Illinois seized the accounts of Forshay Title Co., a subsidiary of Stewart Title Co., and the title company that was holding the $250,000 that was sent by Libertyville Bank.

The plaintiff claims the defendant did not defend any of the individuals whose money was being held by the state, failed to refund money and breached its fiduciary duty to defend the money that was placed in their escrow accounts.

Rojas contends she had to pay an attorney more than $10,000 to retrieve the funds from the state and paid interest on the money.

She is seeking damages in excess of $1 million. She is being represented in the case by Jeffrey W. Deer of Deer, Stone & Maya P.C.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2013L013617.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.