National Lumber in 2010

On numerous occasions I’ve written about National Lumber v Lombardi, 64 Mass App 490 (2005) a case in which the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a document was deemed to be on record when it was “delivered” to the registry of deeds, not when it was indexed and scanned by the registry. The members of the Massachusetts Registers of Deeds Association have been concerned that this holding could alter the longstanding practice that a document is “recorded” when it is entered into the registry’s computer system and not before.

Two bills pending before the legislature, House 1527 and Senate 1861, seek to remedy this problem. Both carry essentially the same language which is as follows:

“No deed or instrument shall be considered to have been received by the register or left for record until said deed or instrument has been approved for recording by the register and an instrument number or document number or book and page has been assigned to said deed or instrument”

Indications are that a compromise bill is now under consideration. It’s language would amend chapter 36 by replacing the existing section 14 with the following language:

Each register shall keep a record, in book or electronic form, into which the register shall enter recording information for all instruments accepted for record, in the order in which they are recorded. Upon recording of an instrument, the following information shall be entered into the record: the day, hour and minute when the register assigns an instrument number, and/or book and page number as the case may be; the instrument number and/or book and page number so assigned; the names of the grantors and grantees in the instrument; and the city or towns in which the land lies.

No instrument received by the register shall be considered recorded, until the register assigns to the instrument an instrument number, and/or book and page number as the case may be.

Any change or correction made to the record shall be accessible to the public through the computer system in that particular registry district. Such change or correction made to the record shall be maintained by the register and shall be available for public inspection at said registry district during registry business hours. Any change or correction to the record shall document the nature and date of the change or correction.