N.Y. RPP Law § 316-A — New York Code / Act RPP / Article 9 / Section 316-A
Indexing and reindexing conveyances, mortgages and other instruments
Status: in_force

§ 316-a. Indexing and reindexing conveyances, mortgages and other\ninstruments. 1. Every instrument affecting real estate or chattels real,\nsituated in the county of Suffolk, which shall be, or which shall have\nbeen recorded in the office of the clerk of said county on and after the\nfirst day of January, nineteen hundred fifty-one, shall be recorded and\nindexed pursuant to the provisions of this act.\n  2. The clerk of the county of Suffolk is hereby directed and required,\nimmediately upon the passage of this act, to cause to be prepared one or\nmore books for each town in the said county of Suffolk for the indexing\ntherein, under the proper town so designated, of all instruments now\nrequired by law to be recorded in the books of conveyances. And said\nclerk shall also cause to be prepared one or more books for each of said\ntowns in said county for the indexing therein, under the proper town so\ndesignated, of all instruments now required by law to be recorded in the\nbooks of mortgages. Said indexes shall be deposited in the office of\nsaid clerk. They shall be prepared so as to contain the date of\nrecording of each instrument, the names of the parties to each\ninstrument and the liber and page of the record thereof and shall be\nsubstantially the forms of the schedules hereto annexed, designated\nrespectively as schedule A, schedule B, schedule C, schedule D, which\nschedules shall be deemed and taken to be a part of this act. Said books\nshall be entitled "town indexes of conveyances and mortgages"\nrespectively, and shall indicate the towns to which they respectively\nrelate.\n  3. It shall be the duty of the said clerk to provide and keep in his\noffice, besides said town indexes, a "daily index, or tickler of\nconveyances," and a "daily index, or tickler of mortgages," together\nwith books or records in which shall be recorded at length conveyances\nand mortgages recorded in his office, each of which shall be endorsed in\nits proper liber number.\n  4. Every instrument presented to said clerk for record, and requiring\nto be indexed under this act after the date when this act shall go into\noperation, in order to entitle the same to be recorded, shall have\nincluded therein, in the description of the premises, a designation of\nthe town in said county in which the land affected by the instrument\nlies, and if it lies in two or more towns of said county the name of\neach and every town in which the land affected by the instrument is\nsituated. Every assignment of a mortgage, and every agreement respecting\na mortgage, to entitle the same to be recorded, shall have included\ntherein a designation of the town in said county in which the land lies\nwhich is affected by the mortgage to which such assignment or agreement\nrelates, and if such land lies in two or more towns of said county the\nname of each and every town in which the land affected by the mortgage\nto which such assignment or agreement relates. And a record of the\ninstrument shall not be effectual by way of notice to bona fide\npurchasers or encumbrancers in respect to any land situated in any town\nof said county not so designated except as hereinafter provided.\n  5. Whenever any instrument affecting or relating to land in said\ncounty entitled to be recorded and required to be indexed under the\nprovisions of this act shall be presented to the said clerk for record,\nhe shall forthwith endorse thereupon the date, hour and minute of\nacceptance for recording by him, and enter in the proper index or\ntickler the name of every party executing said instrument, the date of\nrecord thereof and the name of every town designated as aforesaid for\nthe indexing of such instrument and as soon as practicable thereafter\nshall cause the said instrument to be indexed in the proper book or\nbooks of the town indexes under the proper town designated in which such\nproperty is situated.\n  6. The entries made in said indexes in conformity with the\nrequirements of this act shall for the purpose of notice be deemed and\ntaken to be a part of the record of the instrument to which such entries\nrespectively refer and shall be notice to such subsequent purchasers or\nencumbrancers to the same extent and with the like effect as the\nrecording of such instruments in the office of said clerk now is or may\nbe notice.\n  7. For the purposes of indexing under the provisions of this act all\nconveyances, mortgages, or other instruments recorded and indexed or\nreindexed under the provisions of this act shall be so indexed or\nreindexed under the proper town book of index indicated in the\ndescription hereinbefore provided for, and in an order and sequence\nknown as the "first letter of the last name and first letter of the\nfirst named method". The corporate names shall be indexed under the\nfirst letter of the first substantive word of the name of the\ncorporation, or in the event of a corporation using the proper name of\nan individual, such as John Smith, Inc., such index shall be under\nSmith, John, Inc., as well as John Smith, Inc.\n  8. In cases where any instrument shall have been recorded without such\ndesignation as required by this act, or with erroneous designation, the\nsaid clerk shall, on presentation of proper proof thereof, enter such\ninstrument in the proper index of the proper town, the designation of\nwhich shall have been erroneously stated or omitted, and shall at the\nsame time make a note of such entry and the date thereof, in every place\nin which such instrument may have been erroneously indexed, opposite the\nentry thereof, and also upon the record of the instrument and upon the\ninstrument itself, if the same be in his possession or produced to him\nfor the purpose, and the record of such instrument shall be constructive\nnotice as to the property in any town not duly designated at the time of\nsuch record, only from the time when the same shall be properly indexed.\n  9. No entry in any book or index in said clerk's office shall be\nerased so as to be illegible, but in case of any correction, the same\nshall be made without destroying the original by drawing a line through\nsuch original entry, and in such cases the date of such correction,\nattested by the signature of the clerk or his deputy, shall be entered\nupon the same page on which such correction is made, on the margin\nopposite such correction. In the event the indexes are in a microfilm\nthe correction shall be made by a hole being punched in the margin\nadjacent to the corrected entry. No initials being required in this\nevent.\n  10. Any person presenting to said clerk an instrument for record,\nunder this act, shall pay to said clerk, in addition to the fees now\nrequired by law for recording like instruments, the further sum of one\ndollar for each additional town beyond one under which said instrument\nis required to be indexed, and the sum of one dollar for each town shall\nbe payable whenever an instrument already recorded is required to be\nreindexed under section eight.\n  11. The provisions of this act shall not apply to the indexing of\ngeneral assignments, wills, powers of attorney, executory contracts for\nsale or purchase of land or satisfaction of mortgages, but such\ninstruments shall be filed or recorded as now required by law and when\nrecorded they shall be indexed in separate alphabetical indexes.\n  12. For the purpose of carrying out the various provisions of this act\nthe clerk may employ such necessary clerical help as may in his judgment\nbe required.\n  13. The board of supervisors of said county is hereby authorized and\ndirected to appropriate, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions\nof this act, all such sums of money as may be necessary therefor.\n  14. The records and indexes herein provided to be made under the\nauthority of this act shall be deposited in the office of the clerk of\nsaid county for public use and the same shall be public records.\n  15. To the extent that the provisions herein are inconsistent with any\ngeneral or special law, this act shall be controlling.\n  16. This act shall be deemed and taken to be a public and not a\nprivate act.\n  17. The county clerk may adopt a new indexing system utilizing\nelectro-mechanical, electronic, or any other method he deems suitable\nfor maintaining the indexes. Such system shall be approved by the county\nlegislature before being implemented.\n