:: New Procedure for Connecticut Releases

April 21, 2009. We recently reviewed Connecticut State Statute 2008-R-0072, Mortgages. As part of the statute there is a penalty for not filing a release of mortgage within a 60 day timeframe (please see excerpt below).
 
We have seen an increase in requests by Attorneys in the State of Connecticut for penalties in instances where releases were sent within the time frame, however could not be proven to have arrived by a trackable delivery method.
 
In order to ensure we make every effort to protect our clients from such requests, NTC will be implementing a procedural change. This procedural change is intended to safeguard our clients from mortgage release penalties for the State of Connecticut.
 
"If a mortgagee does not comply with State requirements to Release a Mortgage within 60 days from pay off date, the mortgagee can be liable for damages for whichever of the following is larger: (1) a rate of $200 for each week after the 60 day period expires up to a maximum of $5,000 or (2) an amount equal to the loss sustained as a result of the failure to execute and deliver a release within 60 days. The mortgagee is also liable for costs and reasonable attorney's fees."
 

(Click here for the full report)
 
Procedural Change

All releases for the State of Connecticut will be sent through an independent courier service that utilizes full tracking and documentation. In this way, there will be undeniable proof that the release was indeed sent for recordation within the timeframe. 
 
In addition to this, we utilize a special batching and bar-coding procedure to enable us to send multiple documents to the same county together, resulting in lower overall shipping costs to you.
 
Sending all releases by independent courier service has been our practice for some time now in States such as California and Virginia that have similar statutes. In fact, up until now, the majority of releases for the State of Connecticut have been being sent by a traceable independent courier. 
 

However, with this procedural change in place, all releases for this State will be sent by this method. This will help close the door on incorrect mortgage release fines for Connecticut.

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