Board of Education of Minneapolis v. Hughes
Minnesota Supreme Court
136 N.W. 1095 (1912)
Hughes (defendant) bought a lot from Hoerger in 1906, receiving a deed with the grantee's name left blank; he later filled in his own name and recorded the deed in December 1910. Hoerger had also given a quitclaim deed for the same lot to Duryea & Wilson in 1909, which was recorded a few days after Hughes's deed; Duryea & Wilson had in turn conveyed the property to the Board of Education (plaintiff) by warranty deed recorded even earlier, in January 1910 — but at that point nothing in the public record yet showed Duryea & Wilson had valid title to convey. The Board sued to establish its ownership, and the trial court ruled for the Board. Hughes appealed.
Whether delivering a deed with the grantee's name left blank, on the understanding it will later be filled in, can constitute valid delivery of title, and whether a subsequent purchaser who records first takes valid title over an earlier grantee who failed to record in time.