This is a real story, but the Notary involved did not give me straight answers when I asked her how the deal went down.
Aparantly, a Notary went to an appointment for a Mexican client. The client had a name such as Frankie Martinez Ramirez on the document. But, his ID said, Edie Ramirez Martinez. The last names were reversed while the first name was different.
This Notary failed my over the phone notary test with a score of around 20% which is really bad. It is dangerous not to know how job as a Notary as it can end you up in court. However, this Notary declinded the transaction for correct reasons and was sued anyway. This was the one correct thing the Notary did during her career.
The client Eddie or Frankie (depending on how you look at it) lost out on a Real Estate deal because he could not get notarized in time. He sued the Notary for $1200 and won.
I can figure out why the guy sued, but why did the judge rule in favor of a guy with faulty ID? I think what happened is either the Notary is lying to me. Or, the Notary is so bad at giving straight answers to questions that the judge could not figure out what the lady’s case was and ruled in favor of the defendant who presumably communicated a little better.
I’m not sure exactly what to learn from this case except:
Being a bad communicator as a Notary is not only annoying, but dangerous. It can lose you clients, court cases and annoy Jeremy at 123notary who likes straight answers to straight questions. A yes/no question should be answered with a yes or not and not a story.
In any case, if you deny someone notary work, you might keep a record in your journal of what the ID said and what the document name was just in case you get sued for obeying the law. Good God. What is the world coming to?
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If the names didn’t match line up with the id, I personally would not have completed the signing. It should be exactly what the idea shows.
Comment by Teresa Wash — November 13, 2017 @ 7:35 pm
Perhaps it was a default judgment because she did not show in court.
Comment by John Axt — January 15, 2018 @ 8:44 pm
ok just no pop quzes on saturday night at 8:00 PM
Comment by Eric Schumann — May 22, 2018 @ 5:39 pm
How can she be sued? He could have found another notary. People can refuse anyone service at their place of business, so how is this different? There’s clearly pertinent information missing from this story… like the questions she was asked maybe?
Comment by Smidgen — July 3, 2018 @ 10:55 pm