Professional Documents
Culture Documents
No. 16-1150
Debtors,
___________________
Plaintiff, Appellee,
v.
Defendant, Appellant.
Before
their free act and deed. But, when HSBC appealed that ruling to
the District Court, the District Court reversed on the ground that
because it did make clear that the DeMores had executed the
mortgage as their free act and deed. Because we agree with the
Lassman.
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I.
dispute.
A.
applies.
DeMores. Several days later, the note and the mortgage were
Land Court.
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Appended to the mortgage document was a certificate of
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acknowledgment . . . is endorsed upon or annexed to it . . . ."
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183, 29. It is clear that, for the purposes
at 1035.
the execution of the instrument was his free act and deed."
McOuatt, 69 N.E.2d at 810. The SJC has also stated that "[n]o
and acknowledge a mortgage for another. See Mass. Gen. Laws ch.
160 N.E. 532, 560-62 (Mass. 1928) (finding that a specific power
land). And thus the question that gives rise to this appeal: what
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person acting by power of attorney appears to acknowledge the
mortgage?
B.
schedule for each of the petitions listed the property and the
consolidated.
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purchaser. See 11 U.S.C. 544(a)(3). Lassman then contended
execution of the mortgage was the free act and deed of the DeMores.
his free act and deed pursuant to the powers of attorney that the
DeMores had granted to him.2 For that reason, Lassman argued, the
2
The certificate of acknowledgment in this case states that
the one who appeared to acknowledge the mortgage "signed it
voluntarily and for its stated purpose." Quite sensibly, Lassman
does not argue that there is any material significance to the use
of the word "voluntarily" rather than the use of the words "free
act and deed."
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section 29 because it fails to do what McOuatt requires an
had been executed as the "free act and deed" of that instrument's
certificate does make clear that the execution of the mortgage was
the free act and deed of the DeMores. In addition, HSBC contended
185.3
3
For a useful discussion of the land registration system,
which governs registered land, and the land recording system, which
governs recorded land, and the differences between the two systems,
see In re Bailey, 468 B.R. 464, 477 n.19 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2012).
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purchaser from voiding the mortgage. In connection with this
motion to certify the question to the SJC and its motion for
to show cause why the Bankruptcy Court should not grant summary
does not make clear who appeared before the notary; that this
that the execution of the mortgage was the free act and deed of
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is all that is required under state law to prevent a bona fide
II.
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back-end questions of whether a bona fide purchaser would have had
mortgage.
notary to acknowledge the mortgage and thus may show no more than
read to state that only Molloy appeared before the notary, the
do.
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specifically authorized Molloy to "do all things necessary to
stated purpose."
as his own free act and deed but as the "free act and deed" of the
act and deed,' with respect to executing the mortgage, was the
free act and deed of the DeMores." HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Lassman,
550 B.R. 157, 162 (D. Mass. 2016); cf. Sowden & Co. v. Craig, 26
Iowa 156, 163 (1868) ("It was the agent who executed the
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which, again, is the chapter in which section 29 appears. That
particular, the form that appears in the appendix as "14," has the
Attorney." And the text that follows then states: "On this
the free act and deed of said C D." Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 183 App.,
Form (14).
instrument in behalf of "C D" was doing so "as the free act and
deed of said C D." He contends that, in this way, the form signals
execution of the mortgage was the free act and deed of Molloy, and
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fails to make the representation that, in light of what McOuatt
of acknowledgment in this case does not use the very same words as
does the form that is set forth in the appendix to chapter 183.
chapter 183 -- "as the free act and deed" of the DeMores. And no
more is required under section 29, given the standard for making
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necessary as long as they amount to an admission that [the grantor]
states quite clearly that "[t]he forms set forth in the appendix
this shall not prevent the use of any other forms heretofore
lawfully used." And the SJC has also confirmed that "[t]he
need not take any one specific form." Casey, 52 N.E.3d at 1036.
parcel that is at issue here. The Land Court model form reads:
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http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/courts-and-judges/courts/land-
court/guidelines-registered-land.pdf.
undertaking the free act and deed of the DeMores. Thus, the fact
the precise words used in the Land Court form is not significant.
moreover, the Land Court Guidelines containing the model Land Court
in turn reads:
5
The Land Court Guidelines appear to contemplate that the
requirement of section 29 does apply to registered land, because
they state that deeds, among other documents "must be acknowledged
in order to be recorded." Land Court Guidelines at 1 (citing Mass.
Gen. Laws ch. 183, 29).
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On this ____ day of ___________, 20__, before me,
the undersigned notary public, personally appeared
________________________ (name of document
signer), proved to me through satisfactory evidence
of identification, which were
_______________________, to be the person whose
name is signed on the preceding or attached
document, and acknowledged to me that (he) (she)
signed it voluntarily for its stated purpose.
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/lawlib/eo400-499/eo455rev.pdf.
that is at issue here. The executive form, like the one in this
and the grantor of the instrument. And, the executive form, like
the one in this case, does not also expressly state that the person
signing the mortgage did so as the free act and deed of the grantor.
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We thus do not see how the Land Court form -- given that the Land
III.
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