Section 8231.17 - Violations; civil liability; remedies(a) For a violation of any provision of this article, an online notarization platform or depository is liable in civil action to the persons injured thereby for any of the following:(1) The greater of the following:(A) Any actual damages sustained by that person as a result of the violation.(B) Statutory damages of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per violation.(2) Injunctive or declaratory relief. Such relief is presumed to accrue to the benefit of the public.(3) Any other relief that the court deems proper.(b) In any successful cause of action under this section, the court shall award costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney's fees, as determined by the court.(c) An action under subdivision (a) shall be brought no later than four years from the date the plaintiff had actual knowledge of the violation.(d)(1) The Attorney General, a city attorney, including the city attorney of a city and county, a county counsel, or a district attorney may bring a civil action in the name of the people of the State of California against an online notarization platform or depository for any violation of this article and recover or obtain any of the remedies available under subdivision (a).(2) An action shall be brought under this subdivision no later than four years from the date the online notarization platform or depository notifies the Secretary of State and the Attorney General of the violation that is the basis of the action.(e) An online notarization platform shall not be vicariously liable for any of the following and shall not be vicariously liable in any civil action brought under this article for any damages proximately resulting from any of the following: (1) The negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct of the notary public, principal, or the person that requested notarization of the record, or the notary public's failure to comply with the requirements of this article, any rules or regulations adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to this article, or any applicable law, unless the notary public is an employee or agent of the online notarization platform, in which case the online notarization platform is responsible for the conduct of the notary public to the extent provided under other applicable law.(2) A notary public's failure to timely download an electronic journal or audio-video recording or failure to timely transfer those records to the Secretary of State, or the notary public's deletion of one or more audio-video recording or entries in the notary public's electronic journal.(3) The contents of records uploaded to the online notarization platform for notarization.Added by Stats 2023 ch 291 (SB 696),s 8, eff. 1/1/2024.