Deutsche Bank Nat’l Trust Co. v. Arrington
Annotate this CaseBank filed a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that its deed of trust on certain property was a valid first priority lien on the property. Defendant filed an answer requesting a declaration that its deed of trust was a valid first priority lien on the property. The circuit court ruled that Defendant’s deed of trust had priority over Bank’s deed of trust and that Va. Code 55-52, which codifies the doctrine of after-acquired title, could not elevate Bank’s deed of trust over Defendant’s deed of trust. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) section 55-52 only applies between the parties to a deed and does not affect the rights of third parties or influence the relative priority of their interests; (2) a party who acquires a deed of trust pursuant to a court order is a lien creditor for purposes of section 55-96(A); and (3) a prior deed of trust recorded outside a party’s chain of title is not “duly admitted to record” for purposes of 55-96(A).
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