Opinion
DATE: October 26, 1984
SUBJECT: County Clerk and Register of Deeds; Fees; Uniform Commercial Code
REQUESTED BY: Loren L. Lindahl, Saunders County Attorney, Wahoo, Nebraska
Should the County Clerk or Register of Deeds assess a fee for the recording and indexing of a termination statement?
No, Neb.Rev.Stat. § 9-403(5) (Supp. 1984) specifically provides no fee shall be assessed for the filing of a termination statement.
You have requested our opinion regarding an apparent conflict between the provisions of Neb.Rev.Stat. §§ 33-109 and 33-112 (Supp. 1983), and Neb.Rev.Stat. § 9-403(5) (Supp. 1984). Section 33-109 provides for the payment of a fee of $5 per page to the Register of Deeds and County Clerk 'for recording a deed, mortgage, . . ., or recording any other instrument.' Section 33-112 further provides a fee of fifty cents to be paid to the Register of Deeds or County Clerk 'For entering each instrument presented for record in the numerical index. . . .' Subsection (5) of § 9-403, which establishes a uniform fee of $5 for the filing and indexing of 'an original financing statement, an amendment, a separate statement of assignment, a continuation statement, a partial release, or a full release,' specifically provides, 'There shall be no fee for the filing of a termination statement.'
The rule is well-established that 'Special provisions of a statute in regard to a particular subject will prevail over general provisions in the same or other statutes so far as there is a conflict.' Kibbon v. School District of Omaha , 196 Neb. 293, 242 N.W.2d 634 (1976). Furthermore, 'Where general and special provisions of statutes are in conflict, the general law yields to the special, without regard to priority of dates in enacting the same, and a special law will not be repealed by general provisions unless by express words or necessary implication.' Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO v. City of Hastings , 198 Neb. 668, 254 N.W.2d 695 (1977).
Applying these rules of statutory construction to the above-cited statutory provisions, we conclude that the plain and specific language of § 9-403(5), providing 'there shall be no fee for the filing of a termination statement,' controls over the general provisions of §§ 33-109 and 33-112 relating to filing and indexing fees payable to the Register of Deeds and County Clerk. It is therefore our opinion that the Register of Deeds should not assess a fee for the filing and indexing of termination statements.
Very truly yours,
PAUL L. DOUGLAS Attorney General
L. Jay Bartel Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
Paul L. Douglas Attorney General