(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Secured party” means a legal owner or junior lienholder.
(2) “Entitled party” means a registered owner or any person holding a security interest or other lien or encumbrance which is subordinate to the security interest of the secured party or an escrow agent in conjunction with an escrow involving the sale or transfer of an interest in a manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach subject to registration under this part.
(b) A secured party shall, on the written demand of an entitled person, or the authorized agent of the entitled person, prepare and deliver to the person demanding it, a true, correct, and complete copy of the conditional sale contract or the promissory note and security agreement and any subsequent modification thereto, and a written statement indicating all of the following:
(1) The amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation owing to the secured party and the interest rate, together with the total amounts, if any, of all overdue installments of either principal or interest, or both.
(2) The amounts of periodic payments, if any.
(3) The date on which the obligation is due in whole or in part.
(4) The date to which taxes and special assessments have been paid to the extent that information is known to the secured party.
(5) The amount of hazard insurance in effect and the term and premium of that insurance to the extent that information is known to the secured party.
(6) The amount in an account, if any, maintained for the accumulation of funds with which to pay taxes and insurance premiums.
(7) The nature and, if known, the amount of any additional charges, costs, or expenses paid or incurred by the secured party which have become a lien on the manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach involved.
(8) If applicable, a statement indicating that subsequently incurred obligations will be secured by the manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach and, if there is a maximum amount that may thereafter become secured, the maximum amount that may thereafter become secured.
(c) The secured party may, before delivering a statement, require reasonable proof that the person making the demand is, in fact, an entitled person, in which event the secured party shall not be subject to the penalties of this section until 21 days after receipt of the proof herein provided for. A statement in writing signed by the entitled person appointing an authorized agent when delivered personally to the secured party or delivered by registered return receipt mail shall constitute reasonable proof as to the identity of an agent. Similar delivery of a policy of title insurance, preliminary report issued by a title company, original or photographic copy of a sales agreement covering the manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach or certified copy of letters testamentary, guardianship, or conservatorship shall constitute reasonable proof as to the identity of a successor in interest, provided the person demanding a statement is named as successor in interest in the document.
(d) Delivery of the statement by the secured party, as herein referred to, shall mean depositing or causing to be deposited in the United States mail an envelope, with postage prepaid, containing a copy of the statement, addressed to the person whose name and address is set forth in the demand therefor.
(e) If a secured party for a period of 21 days after receipt of the written demand willfully fails to prepare and deliver the statement, the secured party is liable to the entitled person for all damages which may be sustained by reason of the refusal and, whether or not actual damages are sustained, the secured party shall forfeit to the entitled person the sum of three hundred dollars ($300). Each such failure to prepare and deliver such a statement, occurring at a time when, pursuant to this section, the secured party is required to prepare and deliver the statement, creates a separate cause of action, but a judgment awarding an entitled person such forfeiture, or damages and forfeiture, for any such failure to prepare and deliver a statement bars recovery of such damages and forfeiture for any other failure to prepare and deliver a statement, with respect to the same obligation, in compliance with a demand therefor made within six months before or after the demand as to which the award was made.
(f) If the secured party has more than one branch, office, or other place of business, then the demand shall be made to the branch or office at which the payments of the obligation are made, and the statement, unless it specifies otherwise, shall be deemed to apply only to the unpaid balance owing to or payable at that branch office or place of business.
(g) The secured party may make a charge not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) for furnishing the required statement, whether or not the security agreement covering the manufactured home, mobilehome, or commercial coach so provides.
(Repealed and added by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1124, Sec. 21. Operative July 1, 1984, by Sec. 57 of Ch. 1124.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018