Robert Dawson worked for the company now called LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. for 35 years. He was chief executive of Lawyers Title Insurance Corp., a subsidiary, for 17 years until his retirement in 1989. “There’s no reason this company should be where it is,“ a visibly upset Dawson said at a meeting of about 35 area retirees of the company. “A lot of good people have been unduly hurt.“

The core of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. is one step closer to being sold, but the deal is by no means done. The Nebraska insurance commissioner ruled yesterday that two offers to buy its title-insurance subsidiaries are fair and reasonable.

Days before LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Inc. declared bankruptcy, the troubled business was still accepting money from customers. Now that money is tied up and allegations of fraud, misconduct and breach of contract have been leveled against the unit, a division of Henrico County-based holding company LandAmerica Financial Group in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The fate of LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. in Henrico County could be determined in Nebraska. A hearing on the purchase of the company’s title insurance businesses is scheduled for Monday at the Nebraska Department of Insurance in Lincoln. A second suitor for the bankrupt business has emerged. Stewart Title Guaranty Co. of Houston wants to acquire LandAmerica’s two main operating subsidiaries, Lawyers Title Insurance Corp. and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co.

About 2,000 retirees from LandAmerica Financial Group lost health-care benefits or life insurance this week after the company canceled their coverage to cut costs.

Stock in Henrico-County-based LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., the third-largest U.S. title insurer, plunged yesterday after its planned sale to rival Fidelity National Financial Inc. was terminated Friday night. LandAmerica shares dropped $3.83 to 51 cents. The company has lost 98 percent of its market value this year. Shares in Fidelity advanced 13 percent to $8.35.

There is no Thanksgiving for LandAmerica Financial Corp. this year. The corporate shell that was to have transferred the venerable Henrico County-based insurer to a Florida competitor was to be called Thanksgiving Corp. The Nov. 7 merger agreement with Fidelity National Financial Inc. had offered LandAmerica a way out of a financial jam caused by the housing market collapse that has already taken down several financial giants. For $128 million, Fidelity would have acquired a competitor that had $3.7 billion in revenue last year.

The acquisition of Henrico County-based LandAmerica Financial Group by Fidelity National Financial Inc. has been called off, LandAmerica said yesterday.

LandAmerica Financial Group’s future was dealt a serious blow last night. The deal to sell the Henrico County-based title-insurance and real estate services provider to larger rival Fidelity National Financial Inc. was called off. Neither company gave a reason.

LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., which last week said it agreed to be acquired, yesterday reported that its third-quarter loss widened on noncash charges and the deterioration in the mortgage market. The Henrico County-based title insurer and real estate services company reported a loss of $599.6 million, or $39.45 per share, for the third quarter, compared with a loss of $20.8 million, or $1.28 per share, in the same period a year ago.