(a) When a lien claimant receives payment for the total amounts secured by the lien, the lien claimant shall send the lien debtor a statement relinquishing the security interest under the notice of claim of lien, which shall be identified by the date, names of parties thereto, and file number. If the affected lienholder of record fails to send the termination statement within 10 days, he or she is liable to the debtor for all actual damages suffered by the debtor by reason of this failure, and if that failure is in bad faith, for a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100).
(b) The filing officer shall mark each termination statement with the date and time of the filing and shall index the statement under the name of the lien debtor and under the file number of the original lien. If the filing officer has an electronic microfilm or other photographic record of the lien and related filings, he or she may remove and destroy the originals from the files after receipt of the termination statement. If the filing officer does not have the record, he or she may remove and destroy the originals from the files after one year from the receipt of the termination statement.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 712, Sec. 20. Effective October 7, 2005.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018