Owner Chen conveys a parcel to Diaz, but Diaz never records the deed. Diaz later conveys the same parcel to Evans, who promptly records his deed. Sometime afterward, Chen fraudulently sells the same parcel to Foster, a bona fide purchaser who searches the public records only under Chen's name and finds no prior conveyance out of Chen. What is the legal effect of Evans's recorded deed on Foster's claim?
- AFoster automatically loses priority simply because Evans recorded his deed first
- BEvans's deed is automatically void because Diaz never recorded his deed from Chen
- CEvans's recorded deed provides constructive notice to all subsequent purchasers, including Foster
- DEvans's deed, though recorded, does not give constructive notice to Foster because it falls outside the recorded chain of title from Chen — a 'wild deed'
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Evans's deed, though recorded, does not give constructive notice to Foster because it falls outside the recorded chain of title from Chen — a 'wild deed'
Because Diaz's deed from Chen was never recorded, there is no recorded link connecting Chen to Diaz to Evans in the grantor-grantee index. Evans's recorded deed is therefore a 'wild deed'—recorded, but outside the traceable chain of title—so it does not impart constructive notice to someone searching under Chen's name, like Foster.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Recording alone does not establish priority if the deed is outside the searchable chain of title.
- B. Evans's deed is valid between the parties; it is simply undiscoverable through a standard title search from Chen.
- C. A wild deed recorded outside the chain of title does not give constructive notice to later searchers.
Wild Deed Doctrine
A recorded deed that cannot be found through a standard chain-of-title search—because an earlier deed in the chain was never recorded—does not provide constructive notice to later purchasers.
- Occurs when an intermediate deed in the chain is unrecorded
- A subsequent recorded deed from that unrecorded grantee is 'wild' and undiscoverable via normal index search
- Protects bona fide purchasers who searched the chain in good faith
Memory trick: A deed with no path back to the root grantor is lost in the woods.