Notaries On The Hook

Many of our clients require their employees to perform notary services as part of their scope of work. Many important business documents and transactions are notarized, and when an error or mistake is made by a notary, an injured party may look to the notary to recoup any resulting damages.

Employers typically are held vicariously liable for any mistakes or errors on the part of employees, including notaries, acting within their scope of work. This is commonly known.

However, notaries also may be held personally liable for criminal acts (such participating in a fraud or forgery), and for negligence (such as failing to properly date the document, to confirm the true identity of the party to the transaction, or to comply with other statutory requirements). City Consumer Services, Inc. v. Metcalf, 775 P.2d 1065, 1068 (Ariz. 1989). Notaries are not entitled to qualified immunity for their mistakes. In the event of an error, the notary bond protects the public, not the notary. Error and Omissions insurance may be purchased to protect a notary from liability for inadvertent errors.

Notaries should exercise their statutory duties with care. If a party requests the notary to deviate from her duties “just this one time”, or because “we’re in a hurry to get this important deal done”, the notary should put her foot down and insist that the documents be properly notarized. A notary should be familiar with Arizona Notary Public Reference Manual (published by the Secretary of State) and take refresher training as needed.

THE FOREGOING IS MERELY A PARTIAL SUMMARY OF THE CASE
AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE RELIED UPON AS A LEGAL OPINION.