In re Barnacle
Rhode Island Supreme Court
623 A.2d 445 (1993)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Sally Lapides and her husband, Michael Barnacle (debtors), jointly secured a promissory note with a mortgage on a home. The intention was that both Lapides and Barnacle would sign the mortgage, but, inadvertently, Lapides did not sign. The mortgage was recorded without her signature. Subsequently, Lapides and Barnacle filed for bankruptcy. Although a bankruptcy trustee is deemed to be a bona fide purchaser, the trustee in this case argued that the absence of Lapides’s signature rendered the mortgage, and thus any constructive notice, defective. The bankruptcy court certified to the Rhode Island Supreme Court the question of whether a bona fide purchaser may be deemed to have constructive notice of a mortgage even if one of two joint mortgagors fails to sign the mortgage document.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fay, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
