Legal Definitions - race act

Definition: A recording act that gives priority to the person who records first, regardless of whether they had notice of any other claims. This act is only in effect in Louisiana and North Carolina.

Example: If two people claim ownership of the same property, but one records their claim before the other, the person who recorded first will have priority over the other.

This means that even if the person who recorded first had no knowledge of the other claim, they will still have priority over the other person. This is different from a notice statute, which requires the person recording to have knowledge of any other claims in order to have priority.