(a) A declaration recorded pursuant to Section 2923.5 or, until January 1, 2018, pursuant to Section 2923.55, a notice of default, notice of sale, assignment of a deed of trust, or substitution of trustee recorded by or on behalf of a mortgage servicer in connection with a foreclosure subject to the requirements of Section 2924, or a declaration or affidavit filed in any court relative to a foreclosure proceeding shall be accurate and complete and supported by competent and reliable evidence.
(b) Before recording or filing any of the documents described in subdivision (a), a mortgage servicer shall ensure that it has reviewed competent and reliable evidence to substantiate the borrower’s default and the right to foreclose, including the borrower’s loan status and loan information.
(c) Until January 1, 2018, any mortgage servicer that engages in multiple and repeated uncorrected violations of subdivision (b) in recording documents or filing documents in any court relative to a foreclosure proceeding shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) per mortgage or deed of trust in an action brought by a government entity identified in Section 17204 of the Business and Professions Code, or in an administrative proceeding brought by the Department of Business Oversight or the Bureau of Real Estate against a respective licensee, in addition to any other remedies available to these entities. This subdivision shall be inoperative on January 1, 2018.
(Amended (as added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 86) by Stats. 2014, Ch. 401, Sec. 8. (AB 2763) Effective January 1, 2015. See identical section (added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 87), as amended by Sec. 9 of Stats. 2014, Ch. 401.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018