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Acts Giving Rise to Liability

It would be an act of negligence if a notary affixes his/her official signature and seal on an instrument without proper examination to confirm that the facts stated in it are true.

A notary also has the duty to check any omission of material fact, and avoid making false statements in his/her certificate.  Any notary who fails to comply with the above rules would be subject to civil and criminal liability.  However, mistakes would be considered in a liberal sense.  If the notary makes a mistake over the identity of the acknowledger, s/he may not be held liable if the conclusion on the acknowledger’s identity was based on insufficient proof.  If the facts stated in an instrument are false, and the notarization was proper by law, the notary shall not liable for damages.

In Keck v. Keck, 54 Ohio App. 2d 128 (Ohio Ct. App., Fairfield County 1977), appellant’s wife approached the notary public requesting the acknowledgment of a signature on a title to the owner’s car.  She claimed that the owner of the car, her husband was ill and that she would sign for him.  The notary refused to attest, but soon she came back with a man who was said to be her husband, the owner of the car.  The notary, without checking any identification acknowledged the signature after the man signed the title.  Though the trial court stated that the notary was not negligent, the appellate court held that he liable.  According to the court, the representations made by the wife as to the identity of the signer was not “satisfactory evidence” of identification.


Inside Acts Giving Rise to Liability