Failing to deliver the title in time: Do I have a case?

[geekintrouble]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

Hello everyone,

I bought a used car on the 15th of April from an individual, Mark. Mark had the power of attorney to sell his girlfriend's car. I paid him the money in full and got a bill of sale and an affidavit which stated that he would deliver me a clean and clear title within 21 days as the title was with the bank from which he had taken a loan along with a copy of the power of attorney. I got the possession of the car.

After the end of the stipulated time, he kept giving me frivolous reasons for not giving me a clean and clear title saying that the bank from which his girlfriend had taken the loan sent the title to the wrong address and blah blah.

I asked him to request the BMV a replacement title for which the BMV asked him to produce a proof of the outstanding loan having been paid. Again, he was unable to do it and gave me frivolous reasons.

Now that I have a car without a title (which means I cannot register the car), I want to file a case against him in the small claims court as he hasn't provided me the title within the stipulated time according to the affidavit that he gave me.

I have the following things with me:

1. An affidavit stating that he will provide me the title within 21 days on which he has signed. (I have not signed on the affidavit.)
2. A bill of sale stating that I have paid him the money for the car.

Do I have a case against him? I would appreciate help on this. I am a student and this has caused me a lot of financial loss.

 

[racer72]

Indiana small claims only allows lawsuits for the recovery of specific losses up to $6,000. You cannot use small claims to force an action, ie, to have the plaintiff turn over the title to a vehicle. You will have to use a higher court. You may want to talk to a local attorney, perhaps a letter that spells out the legal ramifications of not providing the title will be enough to get the vehicle seller to comply.

Just to throw something out there, I am going to guess on what really happened. You gave the seller the money and instead of using it to pay off the lein on the vehicle, it was used for other purposes. If this was the case you have many other issues to deal with, the biggest being a violation of the agreement the buyer has with the creditor of the vehicle. This could actually result in the repossession of the vehicle. See an attorney soon.

 

[geekintrouble]

Thank you sir. That helped me ease off my tension.