My abstractor's disclaimer--at present-- is at the bottom of each of my abstract reports and reads as follows:

"Notice: This report contains information from public land records only for the title name, address, and search period stated above and is not to be construed as a certificate or opinion of title, title commitment, or title insurance policy. Abstractors’ liability limited to cost of search."

For a current-owner search, the title name is the current record owner; the address is the address that was ordered; the search period is, for a current-owner search, from the time the current owner(s) took title to the time of the last recorded document in that town's land records.

The latest wrinkle in Vermont case law is a new Bankruptcy Court case that allows the bankruptcy courts to re-examine foreclosure actions that have occurred in the last four years, opening the door to, in some situations, "avoiding" fully foreclosed properties and taking those properties away from their current owners.  Since our land records are completely separate from any bankruptcy records, we as a rule do not check bankruptcy records when completing a title search.  Does anyone?  The local title companies have flipped out over this one, and if they are worried, it's time for me to be worried, too. 

The least I can do is put a "disclaimer" that describes the scope of my search in detail, and then attempts to limit my liability to what the search-order requester is paying me to do the search.

I have never, as far as I know, lost work as a result of having a disclaimer on my abstract reports.  No company, attorney or otherwise, has ever questioned me about the disclaimer.

Anne Gilbert
Title Search Services, Inc.
Dorset, Vermont