Tales from the Crypt (Vault)
32
overheard more than one clerk speak of an
attorney referenced as arrogant or disliked
in some way, where the clerk would just record the defective deed anyway and note
that the attorney could pay to correct it later. Even more disturbing is the legend of
a clerk that would show you the unrecorded documents in a drawer if the clerk liked
you, but would not if you were disliked.
Similarly, one attorney witnessed another
searcher who became frustrated when he
could not figure out a chain of title and left
the office. After the attorney left, the clerk
said that he might have let the searcher
know that the woman purchased the property under another name if he had liked
that attorney.
Being on a clerk’s “good side” can apparently alleviate biological discomfort.
One attorney reported being told when
calling to verify a town’s hours that the office would be closed for a few days after
that day. The attorney left at the crack of
dawn to ensure the title could be completed in one day. After a long drive, the
searcher requested to use the restroom
to which the clerk replied that the attorney could either go out back or to the
store down the road. After traveling to the
store and buying a few items the attorney
asked to use the restroom. The gentlemen sweeping the floor said they only had
a men’s room. Even though the female at-
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2015
torney said she could make do, the store
clerk said a little louder “It’s a men’s room,”
apparently noting that she did not qualify.
After telling the store clerk that the town
clerk had sent her, the store clerk called
the town clerk and said, “There is someone here looking to use the men’s room.”
Not privy to what came next, the attorney
witnessed the store clerk hang up, point to
the door and say, “Go ahead—apparently
the town clerk likes you.” Upon returning
to the town office, the “thank you” regarding the restroom fell on deaf ears, followed
by a quick standard run down of the office
“rules” such as no heat, no books leave the
cold room, and no liquids. Our member
had to chuckle at the last rule, because she
was darn certain she would not drink any
liquids during her search, lest she’d have to
use the bathroom again!
In some clerk’s offices it was neither a radio nor a television distracting you but the
clerks themselves. In one small town there
was a small safe and a couple of shoeboxes for the liens and complaints and only a
few books. If books were used you would
get the clerk’s living room and the ubiquitous card table. And of course, if you got
the card table, you got the clerk too, who
went on with stories and stories about the
stories. One attorney recalls a clerk saying
“Now don't be surprised" before the attorney started the search in a side room.
The searcher found one had to move gin
bottles around to find each and every book
that was needed.
Before photocopiers, clerks typed or
hand copied deeds into the land records.
On one occasion, a member recalls a clerk
calling and asking how was she to know
who was the witness, as the attorney’s signature was illegible. When the attorney replied, “How did you know to call me?” the
clerk conceded the point. In some towns,
the aging of the clerk over the decades
could be evidenced by the slowly deteriorating handwriting. In one town, which
may have been the last precursor to photocopying, it became evident that the recorded entries contained dozens of superfluous “herebys” and “herewiths” as the
clerk was apparently paid by the folio, not
by the page, and sought to increase his return.
While some clerk’s “rules” are no more
than idiosyncrasies of each office, the last
story in this section highlights just how
those inconsistencies can affect the transfer of title in Vermont. One attorney had
sent a deed for recording regarding a large
tract of timberland. After waiting the requisite six months or so for the deed to be returned, the attorney tried to follow up with
the clerk as to when the original might be
returned but could never get a call back.
Not getting any response from the clerk,
our member asked a local attorney to go
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