Virginia Code 29.1-733.16: Termination statement; delivery of certificate of title; penalty
A. A secured party indicated in the files of the Department as having a security interest in a watercraft shall deliver a termination statement to the Department and, on the debtor‘s request, to the debtor by the earlier of:
Attorney's Note
Under the Virginia Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 misdemeanor | up to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Virginia Code 29.1-733.16
- Certificate of title: means a record, created by the Department under this article or by a governmental agency of another jurisdiction under the law of that jurisdiction that is designated as a certificate of title by the Department or agency and is evidence of ownership of a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Consumer goods: means the same as that term is defined in subdivision (a)(23) of § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Debtor: means the same as that term is defined in subdivision (a)(28) of § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Owner: means a person that has legal title to a watercraft. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, statutory trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Security interest: means an interest in a watercraft that secures payment or performance of an obligation if the interest is created by contract or arises under § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Value: means the same as that term is defined in § 8. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Virginia Code 29.1-700
- Watercraft: means any vessel that is used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and is propelled by machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion, except:
1. See Virginia Code 29.1-733.2
1. Twenty days after the secured party receives a signed demand from an owner for a termination statement and there is no obligation secured by the watercraft subject to the security interest and no commitment to make an advance, incur an obligation, or otherwise give value secured by the watercraft; or
2. If the watercraft is consumer goods, 30 days after there is no obligation secured by the watercraft and no commitment to make an advance, incur an obligation, or otherwise give value secured by the watercraft.
B. If a written certificate of title has been created and delivered to a secured party and a termination statement is required under subsection A, the secured party, not later than the date required by subsection A, shall deliver the certificate to the debtor or to the Department with the statement. An owner, upon securing the release of any security interest upon a vessel shown upon the certificate of title issued for the watercraft, may exhibit the documents evidencing the release, signed by the person or persons making such release, and the certificate of title to the Department. If the certificate is lost, stolen, mutilated, destroyed, or is otherwise unavailable or illegible, the secured party shall deliver with the statement, not later than the date required by subsection A, an application for a replacement certificate meeting the requirements of § 29.1-733.22.
C. On delivery to the Department of a termination statement authorized by the secured party, the security interest to which the statement relates ceases to be perfected. If the security interest to which the statement relates was indicated on the certificate of title, the Department shall create a new certificate and deliver the new certificate or a record evidencing an electronic certificate. The Department shall maintain in its files the date and time of delivery to the Department of the statement.
D. A secured party that fails to deliver a required termination statement is liable for any loss that the secured party had reason to know might result from its failure to comply and that could not reasonably have been prevented and for the cost of an application for a certificate of title under § 29.1-733.7 or 29.1-733.22.
E. It shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor for a secured party who holds a certificate of title to refuse or fail to surrender the certificate to the owner or his agent within 10 days after the security interest has been paid and satisfied.
2013, c. 787.