Boat sale

[rockfred]

MN

Hi. Sold an old boat and trailer to a friend. Had trouble getting registration for the trailer, as the previous owner claims he never got any paperwork from the DMV. The boat registration went through with no problem. The boat and trailer sat in my yard for about 3 years, during which I asked the buyer numerous times to remove it from my property. My new landlord insisted I get rid of it, so I resold the whole works as junk to another party. The original buyer is now threatening to take me to court, as I sold her boat. I gave her plenty of time to remove it and she never did, so I considered it abandoned. Through emails, though, I did acknowledge that I owed her money. Do I have any chance of beating this due to her refusal to remove it from my property?

 

[Zigner]

MN

Hi. Sold an old boat and trailer to a friend. Had trouble getting registration for the trailer, as the previous owner claims he never got any paperwork from the DMV. The boat registration went through with no problem. The boat and trailer sat in my yard for about 3 years, during which I asked the buyer numerous times to remove it from my property. My new landlord insisted I get rid of it, so I resold the whole works as junk to another party. The original buyer is now threatening to take me to court, as I sold her boat. I gave her plenty of time to remove it and she never did, so I considered it abandoned. Through emails, though, I did acknowledge that I owed her money. Do I have any chance of beating this due to her refusal to remove it from my property?

There are specific steps that need to be taken prior to getting rid of things like this. Those steps are state specific and usually involve some sort of lien sale. I suspect that you did not properly follow those steps. You should offer to refund the amount you took from your "friend".