A. If any person receiving satisfaction of a mortgage or deed of trust shall, within thirty days, fail to record or cause to be recorded, with the recorder of the county in which the mortgage or deed of trust was recorded, a sufficient release, satisfaction of mortgage or deed of release or acknowledge satisfaction as provided in section 33-707, subsection C, he shall be liable to the mortgagor, trustor or current property owner for actual damages occasioned by the neglect or refusal.

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 33-712

  • Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
  • Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.

B. If, after the expiration of the time provided in subsection A of this section, the person fails to record or cause to be recorded a sufficient release and continues to do so for more than thirty days after receiving a written request which identifies a certain mortgage or deed of trust by certified mail from the mortgagor, trustor, current property owner or his agent, he shall be liable to the mortgagor, trustor or current property owner for one thousand dollars, in addition to any actual damage occasioned by the neglect or refusal.

C. Any action to enforce the provisions of this section, including any action to recover amounts due under this section, shall be brought and maintained in the individual names of, and shall be prosecuted by, persons entitled to recover under the terms thereof, and not in a representative capacity or otherwise. This subsection shall apply to all actions under this section, whether brought before or after July 13, 1988.