37-1284.

Certificate; loss or destruction; replacement; subsequent purchaser, rights; recovery of original; duty of owner.

In the event of a lost or destroyed certificate of title, the owner of the motorboat or the holder of a lien on the motorboat shall apply, upon a form prescribed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, to any county treasurer or to the department for a certified copy of the certificate of title and shall pay the fee prescribed by section 37-1287. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the person making the application. The county treasurer, with the approval of the department, or the department shall issue a certified copy of the certificate of title to the person entitled to receive the certificate of title. If the county treasurer's records of the title have been destroyed pursuant to section 37-1279, the county treasurer shall issue a duplicate certificate of title to the person entitled to receive the certificate upon such showing as the county treasurer deems sufficient. If the applicant cannot produce such proof of ownership, he or she may apply directly to the department and submit such evidence as he or she may have, and the department may, if it finds the evidence sufficient, authorize the county treasurer to issue a duplicate certificate of title. The new purchaser shall be entitled to receive an original title upon presentation of the assigned duplicate copy of the certificate of title, properly assigned to the new purchaser, to the county treasurer as prescribed in section 37-1278. Any purchaser of the motorboat may at the time of purchase require the seller of the motorboat to indemnify him or her and all subsequent purchasers of the motorboat against any loss which he, she, or they may suffer by reason of any claim presented upon the original certificate. In the event of the recovery of the original certificate of title by the owner, he or she shall immediately surrender the certificate to the county treasurer or the department for cancellation.