dmv title mistake

[marktess]

What is the name of your state? california. i had a truck taken from me by my ex-wife and she sold it without my permission. the title was in both our names as and or. at the time she took the truck i had just paid it off and was awaiting title and lien release. when i received the title and lien release i changed the title to my name only. i find out a month later after i had received the new title that the title had been changed to someone elses name (a car dealer). since this i have gotten all the documents from the dmv regarding all activity on these transfers. I need to know in which court do i file to have the dmv return the title to my name and get the vehicle returned to me. from my conversations with the dmv the title was fully in my name and should not have been changed. Pls help.

 

[JETX]

If, at the title was styled as 'your name OR her name' at the time of the sale.... and if it was a negotiable title, then she would have the right to sell the vehicle.... without your knowledge or signature.

 

[marktess]

If, at the title was styled as 'your name OR her name' at the time of the sale.... and if it was a negotiable title, then she would have the right to sell the vehicle.... without your knowledge or signature.

the title was originally in both mine or her name. when i had paid it off i had the title changed to my name only. i had the lien release and original title from the finance company when i had changed the title over. the title was changed a month after i had received the new title in my name only. when i contacted the dmv about why this happened, they looked at the copies of the transactions and said that the title never should have been changed out of my name. they also said that they could not correct this unless told to by a judge. my question is which court do sue the dmv in, small claims?. the value of the vehicle at the time was $31000. i am only sueing for the dmv to reinstate the title to my name and recover the vehicle for me. i have all documentation from the dmv as far as when it was changed.
thanks

 

[JETX]

You can't sue the DMV for this incident. They have 'governmental immunity'.

I would suggest you contact the original owner and explain how their title is invalid and see if you can resolve the issue. One question that remains is.... how did the 'co-owner' sell the vehicle without having a negotiable title??

In any case, your very likely looking at a lawsuit against your former 'co-owner'. And no, this cannot be heard in small claims, since that court only hears monetary issues under $5000. You are going to need an attorney to pursue this matter in a higher court. The court in this lawsuit could then order the DMV to correct their records.

 

[BL]

Have you contacted this dealer about the Title ownership ?

It seems like the dealer received the title in Good Faith ( not knowing the title change ). And your X the same in good faith when she transfered .

However you have proof that you were the sole owner .

Demand the dealer return the vehicle to you. Name them & your X in the lawsuit , not the DMV .

The dealer should have checked with DMV to make sure the title was valid upon receipt .

The dealer should return the vehicle to you , sign that title to you , and then go after the X for compensation of any damages .

 

[marktess]

[the dealer said the title was good at that time but there was a lien holder on the title also. it was a matter of a few days after my ex took the truck that i had properly changed the title over to my name. i had the signed off title from the lien holder and changed it over legally. the documentation that i received from the dmv about the transactions show that the truck was fully in my name. somehow the dealer got the title changed a month later. the dmv should of seen this and not allowed the change. when i talked to my local dmv about this they agreed but could not do anything unless a judge orderd them to do so. as far as my ex, she has disapeared and cannot be found. the truck has since been sold again. i am not suing for money from the dmv only to get an order to have them correct their mistake.

 

[JETX]

From your post, it would appear that the dealer likely has liability. Let me ask this again... HOW DID THE DEALER (or buyer) get a negotiable title to the vehicle?? This is NOT an error by the DMV.... but something that the dealer clearly did to remove that lienholders name from the title (dealers do NOT sell vehicles with existing liens intact).

Contact the dealer in writing and demand an explanation. Then, if necessary, sue the dealer (buyer) as I suggested. They are the ones who appear to have altered or circumvented the 'system'. And again, you cannot sue the DMV for their errors (still not clear that they did any). They are protected from your claim.

Clearly, you are going to need to get the facts on this, including a copy of the title and paperwork that was submitted by the dealer to the DMV. And you may need to sue them to get the rights to subpoena the documents.

 

[gobonas99]

What is the name of your state? california. I need to know in which court do i file to have the dmv return the title to my name and get the vehicle returned to me.

i am only sueing for the dmv to reinstate the title to my name and recover the vehicle for me.

The dealer should return the vehicle to you , sign that title to you , and then go after the X for compensation of any damages .

i am not suing for money .

Okay...someone, please correct me if I am wrong here, as I am at work and do not have my business law books in front of me, but I seem to remember from my studying (just passed the CPA exam - Bus Law was my final section) that based on what our OP has stated, he can NOT recover the vehicle.

As the dealer sold it to someone else IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS, the buyer does NOT have to return the vehicle. Our poster would be entitled to monetary compensation from the dealership, but NOT the return of the vehicle itself. The ONLY way he could recover the vehicle would be if the buyer KNEW that the vehicle did not have a clean title, but purchased it anyway.

Am I right? Or am I totally remembering this part of business law wrong (like I said, I don't have my law book with me to double check)? I can check my books when I get home from work.

-Christina

 

[JETX]

"Am I right?"
*** I believe you are not in this case.
Reason: I doubt that the dealer would have transferred a non-negotiable title with a lienholder in place as a 'normal course of business'.

In any case, the net result will be the same... the dealer is liable to our writer (and not the 'innocent' buyer). And the dealer will very likely NOT be in a position to return the vehicle..... leaving the writer with a suit for the 'damages' (being the value of the vehicle at the time of transfer). One large problem that our writer may have is in determining the vehicles condition at 'trade-in'. Since the writer hasn't seen the vehicle since it was taken, it could have been damaged, etc.

In any case.... bottom line is that the writer is going to need to get a local attorney involved to resolve this.