# Ely v. . Norman

> Supreme Court of North Carolina · April 3, 1918 · 175 N.C. 294

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9808744

## Case

- **Full name:** J. A. Ely v. Isaac Norman.
- **Court:** Supreme Court of North Carolina
- **Decided:** April 3, 1918
- **Citations:** 175 N.C. 294; 95 S.E. 543; 1918 N.C. LEXIS 61
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by BeowN
- **Judges:** Hoke, Beown
- **Cited by:** 16 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9808744

## Opinion text

BeowN, J".,
concurring: I concur in the disposition made of this ease,, but I am of opinion that the case of Davis v. Whitaker, 114 N. C., 279 , should be overruled. While it may not be absolutely necessary to overrule it on this occasion, I think it is well within our province to do so,, and that the value of our registration laws, the stability of titles, and. *299 the best interests of the State demand it. I think that the indexing of deeds is an essential part of their registration, just as much so as the indexing of judgments is an essential part of their docketing, as is held in Dewey v. Sugg, 109 N. C., 328 . The great increase in the number of record books in the register’s office (in Wake County there are over 300) renders it practically impossible for a title searcher to examine the pages of every book. Unless the index is held to be a part of the registration, then mortgagees and purchasers of land can have no positively certain assurance that they are acquiring a good title.
I do not care to discuss the matter at length, but I am convinced that the best interests of the State require that we should declare at once that the indexing of a deed is a part of its registration.
I am authorized to say that Justices Walkek and AlleN concur in this opinion.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9808744. Public record. Not legal advice.