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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2201
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE PRICE.
5682H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 570.095, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
filing false documents, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 570.095, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 570.095, to read as follows:
570.095. 1. A person commits the of fense of filing false documents if:
2 (1) W ith the intent to defraud, deceive, harass, alarm, or negatively impact
3 financially , or in such a manner reasonably calculated to deceive, defraud, harass, alarm, or
4 negatively impact financially , he or she files, causes to be filed or recorded, or attempts to file
5 or record, creates, uses as genuine, transfers or has transferred, presents, or prepares with
6 knowledge or belief that it will be filed, presented, recorded, or transferred to the secretary of
7 state or the secretary's designee, to the recorder of deeds of any county or city not within a
8 county or the recorder's designee, to any municipal, county , district, or state government
9 entity , division, agency , court, or office, or to any credit bureau or financial institution any of
10 the following types of documents:
11 (a) Common law lien;
12 (b) Uniform commercial code filing or record;
13 (c) Real property recording;
14 (d) Financing statement;
15 (e) Contract;
16 (f) W arranty , special, or quitclaim deed;
17 (g) Quiet title claim or action;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (h) Deed in lieu of foreclosure;
19 (i) Legal af fidavit;
20 (j) Legal process;
21 (k) Legal summons;
22 (l) Bills and due bills;
23 (m) Criminal char ging documents or materially false criminal char ging documents;
24 (n) Court filings;
25 (o) Any other document not stated in this subdivision that is related to real property;
26 or
27 [ (o) ] (p) Any state, county , district, federal, municipal, credit bureau, or financial
28 institution form or document; and
29 (2) Such document listed under subdivision (1) of this subsection contains materially
30 false information; is fraudulent; is a for gery , as [ defined ] described under section 570.090; is
31 frivolous; lacks the consent of all parties listed in a document that requires mutual consent;
32 [ or ] is invalid or unenfor ceable under Missouri law ; or in the case a document used under
33 paragraph (n) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, lacks pr obable cause .
34 2. Filing false documents under this section is a class [ D ] C felony for the first
35 of fense except the following circumstances shall be a class [ C ] B felony:
36 (1) The defendant has been previously found guilty or [ pleaded ] pled guilty to a
37 violation of this section;
38 (2) The victim or named party in the matter:
39 (a) Is an of ficial elected to municipal, county , district, federal, or statewide of fice;
40 (b) Is an of ficial appointed to municipal, county , district, federal, or statewide of fice;
41 or
42 (c) Is an employee of an of ficial elected or appointed to municipal, county , district,
43 federal, or statewide of fice;
44 (3) The victim or named party in the matter is a judge or magistrate of:
45 (a) Any court or division of the court in this or any other state or an employee thereof;
46 or
47 (b) Any court system of the United States or is an employee thereof;
48 (4) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or reserve or
49 auxiliary peace officer , as defined under section 590.010, who is licensed in this state or any
50 other state;
51 (5) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or volunteer
52 firefighter in this state or any other state;
53 (6) The victim or named party in the matter is an of ficer of federal job class 181 1 who
54 is empowered to enforce United States laws;
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55 (7) The victim or named party in the matter is a law enforcement of ficer of the United
56 States as defined under 5 U.S.C. Section 8401(17)(A) or (D);
57 (8) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of any law enforcement or
58 legal prosecution agency in this state, any other state, or the United States;
59 (9) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of a federal agency that
60 has agents or officers of job class 181 1 who are empowered to enforce United States laws or
61 is an employee of a federal agency that has law enforcement officers as defined under 5
62 U.S.C. Section 8401(17)(A) or (D); or
63 (10) The victim or named party in the matter is an of ficer of the railroad police as
64 [ defined ] authorized under section 388.600.
65 3. For a penalty enhancement as described under subsection 2 of this section to apply ,
66 the occupation of the victim or named party shall be material to the subject matter of the
67 document or documents filed or the relief sought by the document or documents filed, and the
68 occupation of the victim or named party shall be materially connected to the apparent reason
69 that the victim has been named, victimized, or involved. For purposes of subsection 2 of this
70 section and this subsection, a person who has retired or resigned from any agency , institution,
71 or occupation listed under subsection 2 of this section shall be considered the same as a
72 person who remains in employment and shall also include the following family members of a
73 person listed under subdivisions (2) to (9) of subsection 2 of this section:
74 (1) Such person's spouse;
75 (2) Such person or such person's spouse's ancestor or descendant by blood or
76 adoption; or
77 (3) Such person's stepchild while the marriage creating that relationship exists.
78 4. Any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty under subsections 1 to 3 of this
79 section shall be ordered by the court to make full restitution to any person or entity that has
80 sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the actions of the defendants. Such restitution
81 shall not be paid in lieu of jail or prison time but rather in addition to any jail or prison time
82 imposed by the court.
83 5. (1) Nothing in this section shall limit the power of the state to investigate, char ge,
84 or punish any person for any conduct that constitutes a crime by any other statute of this state
85 or the United States.
86 (2) No receiving entity shall be required under this section to retain the filing or
87 record for prosecution under this section. A filing or record being rejected by the receiving
88 entity shall not be used as an affir mative defense.
89 6. (1) Any agency of the state, a county , or a city not within a county that is
90 responsible for or receives document filings or records, including county recorders of deeds
91 and the secretary of state's of fice, shall, by January 1, 2019, impose a system in which the
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92 documents that have been submitted to the receiving agency , or those filings rejected by the
93 secretary of state under its legal authority , are logged or noted in a ledger , spreadsheet, or
94 similar recording method if the filing or recording of ficer or employee believes the filings or
95 records appear to be fraudulent or contain suspicious language. The receiving agency shall
96 make noted documents available for review by:
97 (a) The jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney's designee;
98 (b) The county sherif f or the sheriff's designee;
99 (c) The police chief of a county or city not within a county or such chief's designee; or
100 (d) A commissioned peace of ficer as defined under section 590.010.
101
102 Review of such documents is permissible for the agent or agencies under this subdivision
103 without the need of a grand jury subpoena or court order . No fees or monetary char ges shall
104 be levied on the investigative agents or agencies for review of documents noted in the ledger
105 or spreadsheet. The ledger or spreadsheet and its contents shall be retained by the agency that
106 controls entries into such ledger or spreadsheet for a minimum of three years from the earliest
107 entry listed in the ledger or spreadsheet.
108 (2) The receiving entity shall, upon receipt of a filing or record that has been noted as
109 a suspicious filing or record, notify the chief law enforcement officer or such of ficer's
110 designee of the county and the prosecutor or the prosecutor's designee of the county of the
111 filing's or record's existence. Such notification shall be made within two business days of the
112 filing or record having been received. Notification may be accomplished via email or via
113 paper memorandum.
114 (3) No agency receiving the filing or record shall be required under this section to
115 notify the person conducting the filing or record that the filing or record is entered as a logged
116 or noted filing or record.
117 (4) Reviews to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section shall be the
118 responsibility of any commissioned peace of ficer . Findings of noncompliance shall be
119 reported to the jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney's designee by any
120 commissioned peace of ficer who has probable cause to believe that the noncompliance has
121 taken place purposely , knowingly , recklessly , or with criminal negligence, as described under
122 section 562.016.
123 7. [ T o ] (1) Any person who is named in or has a prop erty interes t affected by a
124 filing or r ecord that is believed to be cover ed under subsection 1 of this section may file a
125 petition for a judicial review of [ a ] the filing or record [ that is believed to be fraudulent, false,
126 misleading, forged , or contains materially false information, a petitioner may file ] and a
127 probable cause statement that delineates the basis for the belief that the filing or record is
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128 materially false, contains materially false information, is a forger y , is fraudulent, or is
129 misleading.
130 [ This ] (2) The petition and probable cause statement shall be filed in the associate or
131 circuit court of the county in which the original filing or record was transferred, received, or
132 recorded.
133 (3) If the filing or record in question is a petition or other document filed in
134 associate circu it court or cir cuit court or is a notice of lis pendens, lien notice, or another
135 instrument r elated to such petition or document, in lieu of a separate petition, the
136 petition and proba ble cause statement shall be in the form of a motion in the pending
137 case befor e the court in which the petition or document is filed, pr ovided that the
138 hearing on the motion shall be in accordance with subsection 8 of this section and any
139 ruling shall provi de the same rem edies as a petition for judicial revi ew under
140 subdivision (1) of this subsection.
141 8. (1) A filed petition under this section shall have an initial hearing date within
142 twenty business days of the date the petition is filed with the court. A court ruling of invalid
143 shall be evidence that the original filing or record was not accurate, true, [ or ] correct , or
144 pr oper . A court ruling of invalid shall be retained or recorded at the original receiving entity .
145 (2) If personal service cannot be obtained on the person res ponsible for the filing
146 or r ecord because such person is unknown, is outside of this state, or is believed by the
147 petitioner to be evading service, upon an affidavit by the petitioner showing that a good
148 faith effort to serve or pr ovide actual notice to such person was made, the court shall
149 have jurisdiction to hear and rule on the validity of the filing or r ecord.
150 (3) The receiving entity shall waive all filing or recording fees associated with the
151 filing or recording of the court ruling document in this subsection. Such ruling may be
152 forwarded to credit bureaus or other institutions at the request of the petitioner via motion to
153 the applicable court at no additional cost to the petitioner .
154 (4) If the petition is filed by a person who is not named as pr ovided in
155 subdivision (1) of subsection 7 of this section, the court may consider the petition as a
156 civil case without pr ejudice to the right of the pr osecuting or cir cuit attorney to pursue
157 criminal charges in a separate pr oceeding. Upon a court ruling of invalid, the court
158 shall:
159 (a) If the person res ponsible for the filing or reco rd has been personally served
160 or has waived service as of the date of the hearing, order the person to pay r estitution to
161 the petitioner for all costs and reas onable attorney's fees that were incurr ed by the
162 petitioner for filing and pr osecuting the petition and otherwise arising fr om the invalid
163 filing or rec ord;
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164 (b) Unless the person res ponsible for the filing or record has been personally
165 served or has waived service as of the date of the hearing and the court has established
166 that the invalid filing or r ecord was made in good faith after a r easonable inquiry into
167 the legal and factual gr ounds of the filing or notice, order the person to pay damages to
168 the petitioner in an amount of not less than five hundr ed dollars but not mor e than thr ee
169 times the amount of actual damages, including costs and reas onable attorney's fees that
170 wer e incurr ed by the petitioner for filing and pro secuting the petition and otherwise
171 arising fro m the invalid filing or notice; or
172 (c) If the personal service on the person responsible for the filing or record has
173 not been obtained as of the date of the hearing, hold a separate hearing within a
174 r easonable period of time after personal service is obtained or waived and award costs
175 and penalties as prov ided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision.
176 9. If a filing or record is deemed invalid, court costs and fees are the responsibility of
177 the party who originally initiated the filing or record. If the filing or record is deemed valid,
178 no court costs or fees, in addition to standard filing fees, shall be assessed.
✔
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