ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

I stumbled across your law letter and was fascinated.  I was doing research for an upcoming trial and spent way too much time reading your articles.  I have a question. 

Plaintiff complains that his name was forged on a quitclaim deed and that the title company who handled the transaction was negligent in drafting the quitclaim deed (which was sent to a foreign country for execution) and recording it without a proper acknowledgment or taking reasonable steps to determine that the grantor's signature was genuine.  I assume that when someone (a title company) undertakes the drafting of a deed and facilitating a real estate transaction, they owe a duty to the parties to the transaction to draft the deed properly and make a reasonable effort to determine that the deed has been executed by the grantor and properly acknowledged before the title company submits the deed to the Register for recording.  What steps should the title company have taken to insure proper execution of the deed?

Thanks for your question.  I'm glad you found TRELL useful.  Foreign acknowledgments are governed by TCA        66-22-104.  Under that statute, a duly authorized notary in the foreign country could have taken the acknowledgment     and affixed his or her seal.  Of course, if the deed is a forgery the presence or absence of a valid seal shouldn't matter.     The conveyance would be invalid unless the true owner authorized it or somehow waived his rights.  I agree that         someone closing a sale has a duty to use reasonable care to protect both parties.  You might want to look at Collins    v. Binkley , which the Supreme Court decided in 1988.  It is summarized in 5 TRELL 6.  Good luck.