In Petticord v. Joyce, 134 Pa. Commw. 405, 578 A.2d 632 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1990), a purchaser of property requested the prothonotary to conduct a search of the docket for any judgment liens indexed against the property. The prothonotary issued a certificate stating that there were no liens. Petticord thereafter paid $ 13,415.00 to satisfy a lien which was undetected and thereafter filed suit against the prothonotary for damages he sustained in satisfying the lien. Petticord claimed that he had a contract with the prothonotary as he paid $ 20.00 for the prothonotary to search the records. The Court determined however that there was no bargained for exchange and thus no contract as the prothonotary was obligated by statute to perform a search of the docket and issue a lien certificate to anyone who paid the fee. Because Petticord alleged that the prothonotary's negligent performance of a statutory duty caused injury to Petticord, the Court determined that Petticord's claim was governed by the two year statute of limitations.