Any recorder to whom an instrument proved or acknowledged according to law or any paper or notice which may by law be recorded is delivered for record is liable to the party aggrieved for the amount of the damages occasioned thereby, if he or she commits any of the following acts:

(a) Neglects or refuses to record the instrument, paper, or notice within a reasonable time after receiving it.

Terms Used In California Government Code 27203

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Instrument: as used in this chapter , means a written paper signed by a person or persons transferring the title to, or giving a lien on real property, or giving a right to a debt or duty. See California Government Code 27279
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Notice: includes all papers and orders required to be served in any proceedings before any court, board, or officer, or when required by law to be served independently of such proceeding. See California Government Code 26660
  • Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
  • Process: includes all writs, warrants, summons, and orders of courts of justice, or judicial officers. See California Government Code 26660
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10

(1) This subdivision shall not apply to an instrument, paper, or notice that the recorder has determined to be an unrecordable document pursuant to this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the application of Section 27201.

(2) The recorder may provide, to any person presenting a document the recorder determines to be an unrecordable document, a form stating that the person has the right to judicial review in a court of competent jurisdiction of the recorder’s refusal to record the document. The form shall include a section stating the recorder’s reason for refusing the document. The form shall provide notice that it is a public offense to further attempt to record the document without an order of the court as provided by Section 27204. The recorder shall keep a correct copy of the refused document. In the event the document is determined by the court to be a recordable document, the recorder shall pay the filing fees for the review, and shall record the document within a reasonable time.

(b) Records any instrument, paper, or notice, willfully or negligently, untruly, or in any manner other than that prescribed by this chapter.

(c) Neglects or refuses to keep in his or her office the indices required by this chapter.

(d) Alters, changes, obliterates, or inserts any new matter in any records deposited in the recorder’s office, unless the recorder is correcting an indexing error. The recorder may make marginal notations on records as part of the recording process.

(e) Refuses to make the proper entries in the indices required by this chapter.

(f) Neglects to make the proper entries in the indices required by this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision prohibits a recorder from correcting an indexing error.

(g) Fails to correct an indexing error pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 27201.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 349, Sec. 2. (AB 794) Effective January 1, 2018.)

  Previous section
Next section  
 Article 1 Contents