Bank of Mississippi v. Hollingsworth
Mississippi Supreme Court
609 So. 2d 422 (1992)
After receiving an unrecorded deed to a parcel in 1983, the Hollingsworths (plaintiffs) fenced in the land before the Bank of Mississippi (defendant) took a deed of trust in 1984 from the prior owner covering, among other acreage, the same 18 acres — without the bank ever inspecting the property or ordering a survey. The Hollingsworths did not record their own deed until 1985. When they later sued to cancel the bank's deed as to the 18 acres, the chancery court ruled for the Hollingsworths, and the bank appealed.
Whether a party's actual, unrecorded possession of property, such as fencing it in, gives constructive notice of a claim of title sufficient to defeat a later purchaser who relied on the public record.