PROBLEM:

If record title rests in part upon a court decree or judgment, what court records behind the decree or judgment, if any, should be abstracted?

RECOMMENDATION:

A copy of the complaint and of the docket and the details of service (if available) should be included in the abstract in addition to the decree or judgment, unless documents that meet the criteria of 14 M.R.S. §2401 have been recorded in the registry of deeds, in which case the examiner may rely on the recorded documents.

DISCUSSION:

The examiner is responsible for examining any court records necessary to determine the validity of the action, but court records, especially records in older cases, have become increasingly unavailable within a reasonable time, if at all, to the examiner.  The enactment of 14 M.R.S. §2401 provides the examiner with a reasonable means of ascertaining the effectiveness of a court decree or judgment from the registry record.

CITED IN:

Roberts v. Frank L. McKinney, Inc., 485 A.2d 647, 650-651 (Me. 1984)

“The buyer is charged with notice of the fatal defect in the Robertses' title. A title search conducted in August 1983 in compliance with the Maine Title Standards issued by the Maine State Bar Association would have revealed the fatal defect in the proceedings leading up to the sheriff's sale. Maine Title Standard 207 (1984).(fn3) Furthermore, examination of the complete record of this proceeding, pursuant to Maine Title Standard 202, Recommendation E (1984),(fn4) would have revealed McKinney's 1980 motion (still pending in August 1983) attacking the validity of the sheriff's sale. Cf. City of Auburn v. Mandarelli, 320 A.2d 22 (Me.), appeal dismissed, 419 U.S. 810, 95 S.Ct. 25, 42 L.Ed.2d 37 (1974) (purchasing party charged with notice of recorded tax lien).”