Hutton

Plaintiff Brent Hutton sued defendant Fidelity National Title Company, the escrow company used in plaintiff’s refinance of his home loan, for allegedly charging a notary fee in excess of the amount permitted by Government Code section 8211. 1 Under that statute, a notary may charge only $10 per signature for “taking an acknowledgment.” (Id., subd. (a).) 2 Since only two acknowledgments were taken by the notary in connection with plaintiff’s loan refinance (with only one signature notarized as to each acknowledgement), plaintiff asserted that defendant violated the statute by charging him $75 for services performed by the notary. 3 Based on the supposed overcharge for notary services, plaintiff’s complaint set forth causes of action for violation of California’s unfair competition law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.; UCL) and unjust enrichment. The complaint was styled as a statewide, multiyear class action on behalf of plaintiff and all others who used defendant’s escrow services in real estate or loan refinance transactions and were allegedly overcharged for notary services.

After conducting discovery but before class certification, defendant moved for summary…