United States Fourth Circuit

In bankruptcy proceedings in which a bank sought repayment of a loan that it claimed was secured by a deed of trust on two contiguous parcels of the debtor's property, the lower courts' order that the bank's lien on one of the parcels was avoided is affirmed, where: 1) the deed was unrecorded as to that parcel; 2) the bankruptcy trustee was only imputed with the notice of the deed that would be imputed to a bona fide purchaser of the tract under state law; and 2) North Carolina law allowed a purchaser to rely exclusively on the official recordation index of the county to discover liens, regardless of what other independent knowledge that purchaser might have.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/10/2012
• Published 02/10/2012

Judges

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Christopher Charles Finan, David Rooks, III