Mobile Business went bad..

[SJT86]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Northeren Califronia Contra Costa County

Hey guys,

This is my first time posting and my first time dealing with an issue like this. So like me try to explain this quick and simple.

A friend of mine decided to start a mobile business. He needed help buying a truck. So being a nice person that i am i quickly decided to help a friend out and maybe even join him in this "business."

So then i had purchased the truck for $5,500 with MY own money. Now this is where i GOOFED UP. When i went to registered it @DMV i decided to put it in both of our names and let his parents hold on to the pink slip.

SO HERES THE ISSUE...

I no longer speak to my friend and his parents are a bit shady. So obviously i want my money that i used to purchase the vehicle. What should i do?

Im a full time student and work part time. I pretty much used all my savings to "invest" into this business and now im stuck here broke and without a truck that i had bought.

What should i do?

TIA.


**ATTN MODS. If i posted in the wrong place can you please move it instead of deleting. Thanks.**

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Northeren Califronia Contra Costa County

Hey guys,

This is my first time posting and my first time dealing with an issue like this. So like me try to explain this quick and simple.

A friend of mine decided to start a mobile business. He needed help buying a truck. So being a nice person that i am i quickly decided to help a friend out and maybe even join him in this "business."

So then i had purchased the truck for $5,500 with MY own money. Now this is where i GOOFED UP. When i went to registered it @DMV i decided to put it in both of our names and let his parents hold on to the pink slip.

SO HERES THE ISSUE...

I no longer speak to my friend and his parents are a bit shady. So obviously i want my money that i used to purchase the vehicle. What should i do?

Im a full time student and work part time. I pretty much used all my savings to "invest" into this business and now im stuck here broke and without a truck that i had bought.

What should i do?

TIA.


**ATTN MODS. If i posted in the wrong place can you please move it instead of deleting. Thanks.**

I don't see anywhere in your post that you had an agreement that you would be reimbursed for the purchase of the truck, or that it was intended as an investment in the business. Especially in a business deal like you describe, it ALWAYS makes good sense to get everything in writing, just so there is something to back you up, such as in your current situation.

When you registered the vehicle, did you register it as you AND your friend, or as you OR your friend? (The AND/OR choice makes a difference in who would be entitled to transfer title - AND means it requires BOTH co-owner's signatures, OR means either of the two co-owners can transfer title.)

Keep in mind that as long as your name is on that title, you have a shared ownership interest in the truck. That should count for something.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Northeren Califronia Contra Costa County

Hey guys,

This is my first time posting and my first time dealing with an issue like this. So like me try to explain this quick and simple.

A friend of mine decided to start a mobile business. He needed help buying a truck. So being a nice person that i am i quickly decided to help a friend out and maybe even join him in this "business."

So then i had purchased the truck for $5,500 with MY own money. Now this is where i GOOFED UP. When i went to registered it @DMV i decided to put it in both of our names and let his parents hold on to the pink slip.

SO HERES THE ISSUE...

I no longer speak to my friend and his parents are a bit shady. So obviously i want my money that i used to purchase the vehicle. What should i do?

Im a full time student and work part time. I pretty much used all my savings to "invest" into this business and now im stuck here broke and without a truck that i had bought.

What should i do?

Wherever it is that your are taking study classes, see if they offer a course on using one's common sense!
____________________

Sounds like you may have given away one half of the truck. In any event you each have equal rights to it. So what is your excuse for not exercising your right of possession?

If you cannot do so without breaking the peace, then hire a lawyer to file a suit against your erstwhile friend for partition of the truck with a temporary injunction ordering that the vehicle be kept in storage until further orders.

Partition, meaning since the truck cannot be conveniently divided, the court will order it sold and the proceeds distributed in accordance with the proven proportions of ownership. An ownership issue, which you can urge is 100% versus zero. And which he may not even contest.

Another “sounds like” is that you are suffering from a Casper Milquetoast complex, so try and find some backbone and assert yourself!

But without a writing in which he agreed to reimburse you for the price of the truck - or part of it, you have no cause of action (legal claim) against him personally. A suit in partition of personal property under Cal. CCP Chapter 10.5 Section 872 et seq. is your only legal recourse.

In the meantime, as a titled owner, you'd better start thinking about being in compliance with California's financial responsibility laws.