Friendship Manor, Inc. v. Greiman, 244 N.J. Super. 104, 581 A.2d 893 (App. Div. 1990), certif. denied, 126 N.J. 321 (1991)
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- Citation: 244 N.J. Super. 104, 581 A.2d 893 (App. Div. 1990), certif. denied, 126 N.J. 321 (1991)
- Court / Year: New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, 1990
- Topic tags: specific_performance | recording | constructive_notice | title | remedies
- Facts: A dispute over whether two mortgages given to a bank by a prior owner (Bee Tree Corp.) bound a later grantee (Greiman) in the chain of title, given the mortgages’ late recording, and whether the contracting party could obtain specific performance of an undertaking to convey good title.
- Holding: The court recognized the “virtual presumption, because of the uniqueness of land and the consequent inadequacy of monetary damages, that specific performance is the buyer’s remedy for the vendor’s breach of a contract to convey.” On the recording question, it held that constructive notice — chargeable notice beyond actual knowledge and record notice — can defeat a claimant’s reliance on the protections of New Jersey’s race-notice recording statute, because a claimant of a property interest must make reasonable and diligent inquiry as to existing claims.
- Reasoning: Land’s uniqueness makes damages presumptively inadequate for a buyer, so specific performance is the buyer’s normal remedy; recording-act priority turns on good faith and the duty of inquiry, not bare record order.
- Practical impact for CFD operators/buyers: Two operator-relevant points. First, it states New Jersey’s buyer-specific-performance presumption — the same equitable-conversion logic that protects a contract-for-deed buyer’s claim to the deed at payoff. Second, it confirms that constructive notice (including a recorded contract or memorandum) governs priority under the race-notice regime, so a contract-for-deed buyer who records, and a third party charged with inquiry of a buyer in open possession, are bound accordingly.
- Good-law status: Good law; certification denied, 126 N.J. 321 (1991).
- Source (retrieved): https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2075654/friendship-manor-inc-v-greiman/ · also https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/1990/244-n-j-super-104-0.html · Verified: 2026-06-08
Jurisdictions that follow / cite: new-jersey
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Confirm the opinion is still good law before relying on it.