California does have a Race-Notice recording act, but it is not as well drafted as I gave the state credit for.
I neglected the clearest command of federalism--you can never go broke betting against Cali!
Here is the statute as quoted on page 1158:
West’s Ann.Cal. Civil Code § 1214 (2001):
“Every conveyance of real property, other than a lease for a term
not exceeding one year, is void as against any subsequent purchaser or
mortgagee of the same property, or any part thereof, in good faith and
for a valuable consideration, whose conveyance is first duly
recorded….”
The race part of the law is clear (and that is what I praised in class). But where is the "without notice" part of the law, as some of you asked me after class today?
Well, to be protected against a prior unrecorded deed, the subsequent purchaser must (i) be "in good faith"; and (ii) first duly record.
The "good faith" part of statutes such as this one is understood as requiring the subsequent purchaser to be without notice. In other words, good faith requires that the purchaser be without notice.
So there it is--Race-Notice. Not perfectly drafted, but it gets the job done.
Sunset at Coronado del Mar (June 2021) (most beautiful I have ever seen):
Photo by yours truly
