Parks v. Stepp

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-2-6, the filing and recording of a contract to sell shall be notice of the interest and equity of the holder from the date of filing and a deed will only take priority over a bond for title or a contract to sell or convey realty from the same grantor if the deed is filed for record first and is taken without notice of the former instrument.

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This case involves a dispute between two adjoining landowners over ownership of a tract of land granted to both owners by a common grantor. One landowner claims ownership of the disputed land by having the first recorded instrument, a sales contract; the other claims ownership by being the first to record a deed. We granted certiorari to decide if OCGA § 44-2-6 gives priority to the holder of a recorded sales contract over a later recorded deed from a common grantor to a third party.1 Finding that it does provided the conditions in the sales contract are met and a deed is delivered to the holder or his assigns pursuant to the contract, we affirm. Land developer Card Associates, Inc., the common grantor of the property at issue here, owned land in Dawson County which it subdivided into lots. Appellees Charles Stepp and Thomas Smith claim ownership of Lot 16 through Allan and Cathy Ennis, who entered into a contract with Card Associates for the sale of Lot 16 on August 21, 1977. Attached to and incorporated into the contract is a plat of the property certified by a registered land surveyor. This contract with the attached plat was filed and recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of Dawson County on January 30, 1978. The Ennises transferred and assigned all of their rights and interest in the sales contract to appellees on April 12, 1985. The same day, Card Associates executed and delivered to appellees a warranty deed conveying Lot 16, which was recorded on April 24, 1985.

Appellants Taylor and Judy Parks claim ownership of Lot 17 through Dorothy Hunt, who entered into a contract with Card Associates for the sale of Lot 17 on August 15, 1977, a certified plat of the property also being attached to and incorporated into this contract. This contract, which was never recorded, was transferred and assigned by Hunt to Judy and Abraham Parks on November 17, 1980. Card Associates executed and delivered a warranty deed conveying Lot 17 to Judy and Abraham Parks on March 27, 1985, which they recorded on April 6, 1985.2

Parks v. Stepp

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