Arizona Laws 47-9527. Unauthorized records; material misstatements; false claims; liability; special action; damages; violation; classification
A. A person who causes a record to be filed or recorded in a filing office and who knows or has reason to know that the record is unauthorized under section 47-9509 or that the record contains a material misstatement or false claim is liable to a debtor, a consumer obligor, a person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by the record for the sum of at least $500 or for treble the actual damages caused by the record, whichever is more, and reasonable attorney fees and costs of the action, if the person who causes the record to be filed or recorded wilfully refuses to terminate or correct the record within twenty days after the date of a written request from the debtor, the consumer obligor, the person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by the record.
Attorney's Note
Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 felony | up to 7 years | up to $150,000 |
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 47-9527
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Collateral: means the property subject to a security interest or agricultural lien. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- Consumer obligor: means an obligor who is an individual and who incurred the obligation as part of a transaction entered into primarily for personal, family or household purposes. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Debtor: means :
(a) A person having an interest, other than a security interest or other lien, in the collateral, whether or not the person is an obligor;
(b) A seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles or promissory notes; or
(c) A consignee. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Filing office: means an office designated in section 47-9501 as the place to file a financing statement. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Obligor: means a person that, with respect to an obligation secured by a security interest in or an agricultural lien on the collateral, owes payment or other performance of the obligation, has provided property other than the collateral to secure payment or other performance of the obligation or is otherwise accountable in whole or in part for payment or other performance of the obligation. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
- Termination statement: means an amendment of a financing statement that:
(a) Identifies, by its file number, the initial financing statement to which it relates; and
(b) Indicates either that it is a termination statement or that the identified financing statement is no longer effective. See Arizona Laws 47-9102
- Wilfully: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. Any debtor, any consumer obligor, any person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by a record that is unauthorized under section 47-9509 or that contains a material misstatement or false claim may bring an action pursuant to this section in the superior court for any temporary or permanent relief as is necessary to clear or otherwise correct the records of the filing office of the record as provided for in the rules of procedure for special actions. The relief shall be consistent with the practical limitations of the filing system used by the filing office. This special action may be brought based on the ground that the record is not authorized under section 47-9509 or contains a material misstatement or false claim. A debtor, a consumer obligor, a person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by the record may bring a separate special action to clear or otherwise correct the records of a filing office of the record or join the special action with an action for damages as described in this section.
C. If a debtor, a consumer obligor, a person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by a record that is unauthorized under section 47-9509 or that contains a material misstatement or false claim prevails in a special action pursuant to this section, both of the following apply:
1. The court may mandate any legal or equitable remedy that is consistent with the practical limitations of the filing system used by the filing office and that is necessary to immediately and effectively clear or otherwise correct the records of the filing office of the record, including ordering the person responsible for filing the record to file a termination statement or take any other action as is necessary to clear or otherwise correct the records of a filing office of the record.
2. The debtor, the obligor, the person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by the record may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs of the action.
D. The remedies provided in this section are cumulative and are not exclusive to and do not limit any other legal or equitable remedies that may be available to any debtor, any obligor, any person named as a debtor or the owner or holder of collateral affected by a record that is unauthorized under section 47-9509 or contains a material misstatement or false claim.
E. A person who is not entitled to file a record under section 47-9509, who causes a record to be filed in the records of a filing office and who knows or has reason to know that the record is unauthorized under section 47-9509 or the record contains a material misstatement or false claim is guilty of a class 3 felony.
F. The attorney general or county attorney for the county in which an alleged violation of this section occurred may prosecute a violation of this section.