§ 63-17-2330 — Immunity from liability.

(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of federal or state law, a financial institution, as defined in Section 63-17-2310(A)(2), is not liable to a person for disclosure of information to the Department of Social Services, its designee, or the department's or designee's employees under Section 63-17-2320 for encumbering or surrendering any deposits, credits, or other personal property in response to a notice of lien or levy by the department, or its designee, or for any other action taken in good faith to comply with the requirements of Sections 63-17-2310 and 63-17-2320. (B) Upon obtaining a financial record of an individual from a financial institution pursuant to Sections 63-17-2310 and 63-17-2320, the department, its designee, or the department's or designee's employees may disclose the financial record only for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation of the individual. (C) If the department, its designee, or the department's or designee's employees knowingly or by reason of negligence disclose a financial record of an individual in violation of subsection (B), the individual whose records were disclosed may bring a civil action for damages against the department, its designee, or the department's or designee's employees in a district court of the United States. (D) No liability arises under subsection (C) with respect to any disclosure which results from a good faith but erroneous interpretation of subsection (B). (E) In an action brought under subsection (C), upon a finding of liability on the part of the defendant, the defendant is liable to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the sum of: (1) the greater of: (a) one thousand dollars for each act of unauthorized disclosure of a financial record with respect to which the defendant is found liable; or (b) the sum of: (i) the actual damages sustained by the plaintiff as a result of the unauthorized disclosure; and (ii) in the case of a wilful disclosure or a disclosure which is the result of gross negligence, punitive damages; and (2) the costs, including attorney fees, of the action.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, SECTION 2. ARTICLE 19 Credit Reporting of Child Support Arrearages DERIVATION TABLE Showing the former section from which the section in this article was derived. NewSection FormerSection 63-17-2510 43-5-585