Coquitlam notary public wins judgment in Civil Resolution Tribunal

More than 18 months after doing some work for a pair of homebuyers, a Coquitlam notary public is set to be paid.

Homebuyers Behzad Hojjati and Azadeh Safarian were recently ordered to pay the Anahita Rostami Notary Corporation a total of $2,744, following a recent judgment from the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

Hojjati and Safarian hired Rostami on March 16, 2023 – 12 days before the deal was set to close on their home purchase.

However, the buyers’ lender needed a guarantor, and that guarantor also needed to sign a certificate of independent legal advice.

According to Hojjati and Safarian, Rostami didn’t get the guarantor’s signature, which put them at risk of losing the mortgage. Because of that delay, the buyers ultimately bought the house with a different notary.

However, the clients still owed their original notary, the tribunal concluded.

Professional rules don’t allow for a notary to act on behalf of both the buyers and the guarantor, which would be a potential conflict of interest, according to Rostami.

Rostami provided expert opinions from two other notaries who corroborated the argument.

“It was necessary” for Rostami to refer the guarantor to another rotary public, the CRT tribunal member Mark Henderson concluded.

It was the other notary public, not named in the CRT judgment, who: “had difficulty reaching the respondents’ guarantor and this caused a delay,” according to the judgment.

Amid the delay, the lender withdrew authorization for the mortgage.

However, Rostami was not responsible for the deal falling through, Henderson concluded, adding the notary public was entitled to value for work, which included reviewing a copy of the plan filed in the Land Title Office, reviewing municipal tax information, and preparing transfer and mortgage documents.

Henderson concluded Rostami is entitled to $2,288, plus interest and CRT fees, adding up to $2,744.

The homebuyers bought the house with a different notary and lender.