Mr. Kerrigan represented a notary who was sued in a real estate dispute, along with the property’s alleged seller and the appraisal company, after the Plaintiff purchased a lot he claims was part of an “illegal re-subdivision” and thus worthless. The notary had prepared the Act of Cash Sale after analyzing the abstract of the property and determining exactly what was owned by the seller. The Plaintiff claimed that the notary should have been put on notice that the property was illegally re-subdivided because the description of the property confirmed that the sale was only of the western portion of a lot and for only that portion not previously sold. Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles asserted that the notary had neither actual nor constructive knowledge that the lot was illegally re-subdivided. Judge Elizabeth Wolfe of the 21st JDC, Livingston Parish, agreed and granted a Motion for Summary Judgment dismissing the notary from the suit, noting that while notaries are responsible for the documents they execute, the Defendant did not withhold any information from the Plaintiff, nor did she have any knowledge superior to and/or different from him at the time he read and executed the Act of Cash Sale.
Terry P. Lambert v. Sterling J. Perkins, Mildred D. Bunch, John D. Ogden and Carlock Ogden Residential Appraisals, LLC, 21st JDC, Parish of Livingston, Case No. 115698 Div. “F”