Sonderman v. Remington Const. Co., Inc

In Sonderman v. Remington Const. Co., Inc., 244 N.J. Super. 611, 616, 583 A.2d 367 (App.Div.1991), aff'd, 127 N.J. 96, 603 A.2d 1 (1992), the Court held, in a different but analogous context, that a purchaser for value was required to search not only the docket book for money judgments, but also all dockets and records resulting from non-money judgments for liens on real estate. That is essentially what Klein claims should occur here. The Supreme Court, however, disagreed with us. It held that our "statement was at odds with current searching practice," and that, irrespective of whether a search of docketed non-money judgments could reveal the existence of a judgment affecting real property, the Court saw "no reason to impose a greater responsibility on title searchers than is imposed by standard practice." Sonderman v. Remington Const. Co., Inc., 127 N.J. 96, 110, 603 A.2d 1 (1992). Accordingly, it concluded that an order vacating an in rem foreclosure judgment must be recorded in the same manner as a deed in order to give notice to subsequent purchasers for value. Ibid.