(1) For the official misconduct of a notary public, the notary public and the sureties on the notary public’s surety bond are liable in a civil action for the damages sustained by the persons injured. The employer of a notary public is also liable if both of the following conditions apply:
  (a) The notary public was acting within the actual or apparent scope of his or her employment.

Terms Used In Michigan Laws 55.297

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Notarial act: means any of the following:
  (i) An act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or electronic record, that a notary public commissioned in this state is authorized to perform including, but not limited to, taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification upon oath or affirmation, or witnessing or attesting a signature performed in compliance with this act. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • Official misconduct: means 1 or more of the following:
  •   (i) The exercise of power or the performance of a duty that is unauthorized, unlawful, abusive, negligent, reckless, or injurious. See Michigan Laws 55.265
  • 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 Michigan Laws 55.265
  •   (b) The employer had knowledge of and consented to or permitted the official misconduct.
      (2) A notary public and the notary public’s sureties are not liable for the truth, form, or correctness of the contents of a record upon which the notary public performs a notarial act.