§ 385 — Proceedings upon the petition; notice of hearing

§ 385. Proceedings upon the petition; notice of hearing. Immediately\nupon the filing of the petition and of the notice thereof as provided in\nsection three hundred eighty-two of this chapter, and upon receiving the\npreliminary report of the official examiner of title as to the\nsufficiency of parties, the registrar shall cause a notice, fixing the\ntime and place at which the petition will be heard, to be published in a\nnewspaper published in the county in which the land is situated. The\nreturn day of said notice shall not be less than twenty days nor more\nthan sixty days after the date of publication. The registrar shall also,\nwithin seven days of the publication of said notice in a newspaper,\ncause a copy of said notice to be sent by certified letter, demanding a\nreturn personally signed receipt card, to every party to the proceeding\nwhose address is known. The court may also cause other or further notice\nof the petition to be given. The court shall, so far as it considers it\npossible, require proof of actual notice to all parties who appear to\nhave any interest in, or claim to, the land included in the petition.\nNotice to such persons by mail shall be by certified letter, demanding a\nreturn personally signed receipt card. The registrar shall also cause\nthe notice of such proceeding and hearing to be posted, at least\nfourteen days before the return day, in a conspicuous place on each\nparcel of land affected by the proceeding. The certificate of the\nregistrar that he has served the notice as directed by the court, by\npublishing and mailing, and that the notice has been duly posted upon\nthe land, shall be filed in the case, with affidavits in support of the\nsame, on or before the return day, and shall be proof of such service.\nThe necessary disbursements of the official examiner of title in the\ncourse of his work, the expense of the publication, the mailing, the\ndisbursements for service of the notice, and the posting on the land of\nthe notices shall be paid by the petitioner. Upon the return day the\nhearing may be adjourned from time to time by the court on its own\nmotion or on the motion of the official examiner of title, or of any\nparty. Service of notice upon the people of the state of New York may be\nmade by mailing a copy of said notice securely inclosed in a postpaid\nwrapper and directed to the attorney general of the state of New York.\nWhere the people of the state of New York or any municipality in the\nstate is made a party to the proceeding or appears therein the registrar\nshall serve upon the state or such municipality on its appearance in\nsuch proceeding by the attorney general or corporation counsel or\nofficer discharging similar functions, a copy of the petition, abstract\nof title and survey filed which abstract of title shall contain a full\nchain of title disclosing the base or underlying title and the tax sale\ntitle if there be one, and all mortgages, liens, encumbrances, wills,\nadministrations of estates, and proceedings of all kinds and nature,\nrelating to the real property in question, as required by this article.\nUnless the court otherwise directs no report shall be made upon the\npetition, until the time specified in the notice of the hearing on the\npetition, and, if any adverse claimant or objector appears, the report\nshall not be confirmed until opportunity is given to contest the rights\nof the petitioner in such manner as shall be allowed by the court. The\ncourt may refer to the official examiner of title any controverted\nmatter or question for hearing and report. Default shall be noted on the\nfailure to appear of any of those on whom the notice of hearing has been\nserved and upon petition to the court a final order and judgment of\nregistration may be entered at once on the failure to appear and object\nof all persons so served. The official examiner's report upon being\npresented to the court shall be prima facie and presumptive evidence of\nthe facts stated therein, and all statements in the report shall be\ntaken and construed as statements of fact, unless they are expressly\ndeclared therein to be conclusions or opinions. In no case shall the\ncourt be bound by the report of an official examiner of title but may\nrequire other or further proof. If any party to the proceeding\ncontroverts any statement contained in the official examiner's report,\nthe facts controverting such statement must be specifically pleaded and\nset forth and must be established affirmatively by the party pleading or\nsetting forth the same. The trial of any issue raised shall be governed\nby and shall proceed according to the laws of this state and the rules\nof the court in so far as the same are not expressly abrogated or\nmodified by this article.\n