Cumbee v. Myers

In this appeal, we determine whether a notary public’s certification that a deed was “[subscribed and sworn to” by a grantor satisfies the acknowledgment requirement of Code § 55-113.

William Silas Cumbee, Jr., presented a deed for recordation to John B. Myers, Jr., Clerk of the Circuit Court of Montgomery County (the Clerk). The deed contained the signatures of five grantors. Three different notaries public executed certificates stating that the deed was “[subscribed and sworn to” by each grantor. The Clerk refused to record the deed because he believed the words, “subscribed and sworn to,”…