CARAWAY Et Al. v. SPILLERS, 332 Ga. App. 588

Nettie Spillers deeded two acres to Phillip and Wendy Caraway in 1998; the Caraways took immediate, open possession, placed a manufactured home, and occupied/maintained the land continuously for ~23 years (1998–2011).
The Caraways did not record their deed in 1998; they recorded it on May 15, 2003.
Nettie later deeded the same two acres to her son Matt Toland Spillers on April 11, 2003; Spillers recorded his deed three days later and claims he lacked notice of the Caraway deed.
In 2011 Spillers sued to cancel the Caraway deed and to declare himself the true owner; the Caraways pleaded defenses including title by adverse possession and inquiry/constructive notice from possession.
The trial court granted summary judgment for Spillers, reasoning the Caraway deed—being unrecorded when Spillers recorded—lost priority; the Caraways appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a prior unrecorded deed loses priority when a subsequent deed is recorded	Caraways: Their long, open, exclusive possession put Spillers on inquiry/constructive notice of their title, so his later-recorded deed does not cut off their prior deed	Spillers: He recorded first and had no actual notice of the Caraway deed, so under the recording rule his recorded deed has priority	Reversed trial court: factual dispute exists whether Caraways’ possession put Spillers on inquiry notice; summary judgment for Spillers was improper

Home Builders Assn. of Savannah v. Chatham County, 276 Ga. 243 (2003) (summary judgment reviewed de novo; construe evidence for nonmovant)
Wren v. Wren, 199 Ga. 851 (1945) (possession gives notice beyond public records)
Terrell v. McLean, 130 Ga. 633 (1908) (open, exclusive possession charges a purchaser with inquiry notice and may defeat a later recorded title)
McDonald v. Taylor, 200 Ga. 445 (1946) (actual, open, visible, exclusive possession at the time of a subsequent purchase puts purchaser on inquiry notice)