and notices have been discovered as follows, the marginal notes showing what disposition has been made of them by the examiner 7. Search has been made for one year last past in the register's (or county clerk's) office for chattel mortgages and conditional bills of sale affecting the premises. Upon such search the following unsatisfied mortgages and conditional bills of sale appear.... 8. Tax offices. paid are as follows: Taxes, assessments and water rates un Year Amount (State in detail all offices, local or otherwise, in which records of taxes, assessments or water rates are kept, in which searches have been made.) Sales for taxes, assessments and water rates have been had as follows: (State in detail offices to which searches have been made.) 9. Here insert detailed statement of all searches for liens or incumbrances other than those above set forth.... 10. Other interested persons. The following persons who do not reside on the premises claim interests or rights in said property, the nature of their claim in law or equity being herewith set forth in detail: Name Address Nature of Claim The names and post-office addresses of the owners of the adjoining parcels of land are, as far as reasonably obtainable by inquiry on the premises, given below as shown in the diagram: II. Inspection of property. An inspection of the premises shows the property is occupied by the persons whose names and post-office addresses are set forth below; said occupants having described their interests and claims in said premises as follows Name Post-office Address Nature of Claim An inspection of the plumbing, drains and sewers shows the following easements: An inspection of the walls, halls, roofs, yards and fireescapes show easements as follows: 12. Other matters which may or may not be of public record not included above and affecting said title are set forth as follows: being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a duly qualified official examiner of title, licensed to practice as such under and by virtue of the law of the state of New York; that he has personally examined the title to the property described in the foregoing certificate, and has made the foregoing certificate, and that the statements contained in said certificate are true in every particular to the best of his knowledge and belief; and that he has employed all usual means and methods for ascertaining the truth thereof and of all the facts and circumstances affecting and concerning the title to said property. Sworn to before me this..... day of .... 19.. 6. This act shall take effect immediately. [Explanatory Letter sent to members of the Legislature.] NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE ON THE Amendment of the LAW FOR REGISTERING TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY CHARLES A. BOSTON, Chairman, New York ANSLEY WILCOX, Buffalo HORACE M'GUIRE, Rochester ISRAEL T. DEYO, Binghamton ISAAC S. SIGNOR, Albion DEAR SIR: OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN 24 BROAD STREET, NEW YORK CITY The Report of the Committee of the New York State Bar Association on the Amendment of the Law in Respect to the Registration of Titles, has been forwarded to you. That Committee was appointed for the purpose of taking steps to add to the efficiency of the Torrens System of Title Registration, as adopted in this State. Its efforts have been directed to that end, and its criticisms of the present law had only that end in view. The Committee, after careful consideration, has now formulated a few proposed amendments to the present law, which have been introduced in the Senate by Mr. Bayne (printed No. 1252), and in the Assembly by Mr. Fry (printed No. 1548) to amend the Real Property Law in relation to registering titles to real property. The Committee's reasons for these amendments (except merely verbal amendments, the purpose of which is obvious), are that the Supreme Court of the United States in its decision in the case of the American Land Company vs. Zeiss, January 3, 1911,-a case arising under the burned record act of California,- held that that law, and the practice thereunder, did not violate the provisions of the XIVth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, although the actual result of its operation was to deprive the true owner of his property without actual notice, and to transfer it to a person who claimed to be the owner, though not actually such owner. Our Committee is apprehensive that this same possibility lurks in the present so-called Torrens Law in this State, and believes that it was not the object of the Legislature in passing that law to afford extraordinary facilities for depriving the true owner of property through the incompetency, fraud or innocent error of an official examiner of title. Our Committee has carefully considered how greater safeguards can be thrown around the operation of this law, so as to protect actual owners from deprivation of their property, without actual notice, and at the same time not necessarily to increase the expense or difficulty of registering titles under this system. The Committee thinks that it has accomplished this end, so far as possible, by the additional safeguards which it now recommends in its amendments. In substance these safeguards contemplate: I. That the complaint and the examiner's certificate shall inform the court whether the title sought to be registered, or the title of those through whom it has been deduced, has been previously rejected upon any examination or any contract of purchase upon the ground of an outstanding claim, and if so, to name or describe the owner |