Can I sue my mom for auto loan debt?

[Dude_In_Texas_92]

When I was 21 (2014) my mother put me and my siblings in a desperate situation of almost being homeless. At the time we had no car and no jobs because of the lack of an automobile. I could not drive at the time and still cannot so she talked me into getting her a car in my name which she paid the down payment with her tax return. She promised, verbally, that she would make the payments and take care of maintenance of the car so that at one point I could transfer the title in her name. Instead of focusing on a job my mother started dating a meth addict who was bound to a halfway house who drove the car in question regularly in such a dangerous way that forced us to get maintenance work on it that would normally be too early for a brand new car. I ended up losing my job due to working myself too hard and stress that I got ill, and working a warehouse job you can lose it just by looking at a guy funny. Anyway, the car was repossessed and now I have a $9,000 debt that has kept my credit score under 500 points for several years now. My mom doesn't want to help out with paying off the debt so I was thinking about suing her. Do I have a case and what are my chances of winning it? Here in Texas.

 

[LdiJ]

When I was 21 (2014) my mother put me and my siblings in a desperate situation of almost being homeless. At the time we had no car and no jobs because of the lack of an automobile. I could not drive at the time and still cannot so she talked me into getting her a car in my name which she paid the down payment with her tax return. She promised, verbally, that she would make the payments and take care of maintenance of the car so that at one point I could transfer the title in her name. Instead of focusing on a job my mother started dating a meth addict who was bound to a halfway house who drove the car in question regularly in such a dangerous way that forced us to get maintenance work on it that would normally be too early for a brand new car. I ended up losing my job due to working myself too hard and stress that I got ill, and working a warehouse job you can lose it just by looking at a guy funny. Anyway, the car was repossessed and now I have a $9,000 debt that has kept my credit score under 500 points for several years now. My mom doesn't want to help out with paying off the debt so I was thinking about suing her. Do I have a case and what are my chances of winning it? Here in Texas.

Does your mom have any money? If she doesn't, its pointless to sue her because you won't be able to collect anything.

 

[Taxing Matters]

You have two potential problems in successfully suing your mother.

The first is that the purchase was for a new car with a loan to pay it off. It seems likely that the loan was at least a 5 year loan, which is pretty common for new car loans. That means that your mother was promising to make payments over that period time. The statute of frauds requires that contracts that take longer than a year to complete must be in writing. So she might have a good defense here in the statute of frauds since there is nothing written for this arrangement; it was all apparently oral.

The second is that you say the car was repossessed several years ago. Texas law sets a four year statute of limitations (SOL) to sue on a breach of contract. So if she stopped making the payments more than 4 years ago, she also has a defense to the lawsuit that the SOL has expired.

But you can try suing her in small claims court. The limit for small claims court in Texas is $10,000, so suing her for the $9,000 owed on the debt you have would fall within small claims court. You might get judgment against her, especially if she doesn't raise those defenses I mentioned, and judgments can last a long time. So even if she can't pay it all now you might be able to collect it later. Just be aware that Texas does not allow garnishment of wages to collect a judgment, unlike most states.

 

[Zigner]

One has to wonder why the OP didn't simply take back his car...

 

[quincy]

One has to wonder why the OP didn't simply take back his car...

Dude says he can't drive, which could have made retrieving the car difficult, even if the car was financed in his name.

 

[Dude_In_Texas_92]

One has to wonder why the OP didn't simply take back his car...

I would advise rereading the post, slowly if needed.

 

[Dude_In_Texas_92]

You have two potential problems in successfully suing your mother.

The first is that the purchase was for a new car with a loan to pay it off. It seems likely that the loan was at least a 5 year loan, which is pretty common for new car loans. That means that your mother was promising to make payments over that period time. The statute of frauds requires that contracts that take longer than a year to complete must be in writing. So she might have a good defense here in the statute of frauds since there is nothing written for this arrangement; it was all apparently oral.

The second is that you say the car was repossessed several years ago. Texas law sets a four year statute of limitations (SOL) to sue on a breach of contract. So if she stopped making the payments more than 4 years ago, she also has a defense to the lawsuit that the SOL has expired.

But you can try suing her in small claims court. The limit for small claims court in Texas is $10,000, so suing her for the $9,000 owed on the debt you have would fall within small claims court. You might get judgment against her, especially if she doesn't raise those defenses I mentioned, and judgments can last a long time. So even if she can't pay it all now you might be able to collect it later. Just be aware that Texas does not allow garnishment of wages to collect a judgment, unlike most states.

Thank you so much. I have a lot to mull over now. Would a small claims court be able to outline a system of repayment? Like let's say she can't afford to lay down the lump sum so could they say, "you must pay back $300 until the sum of $9000 is fulfilled"? I just want to make sure some bases are clear before I take any steps forward. I truly appreciate your knowledge!

 

[Zigner]

Dude says he can't drive, which could have made retrieving the car difficult, even if the car was financed in his name.

When I located my car after it was improperly withheld from me, I called a tow truck. Alternatively, the OP could have taken a friend who does drive.

ETA: I had to call a tow truck because the clutch was burned out by the person who had been driving it. In my case, it was the car that couldn't drive, not the owner

 

[Zigner]

I would advise rereading the post, slowly if needed.

I read the post. I'm sorry that you were too helpless to retrieve your car.

 

[adjusterjack]

Would a small claims court be able to outline a system of repayment? Like let's say she can't afford to lay down the lump sum so could they say, "you must pay back $300 until the sum of $9000 is fulfilled"?

I suppose a judge "could" do that but I seriously doubt that any judge "would" do it. Once a judgment is made it's up to the judgment creditor to figure out how to collect.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to Small Claims resources in Texas: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/small-claims

 

[Just Blue]

When I was 21 (2014) my mother put me and my siblings in a desperate situation of almost being homeless. At the time we had no car and no jobs because of the lack of an automobile. I could not drive at the time and still cannot so she talked me into getting her a car in my name which she paid the down payment with her tax return. She promised, verbally, that she would make the payments and take care of maintenance of the car so that at one point I could transfer the title in her name. Instead of focusing on a job my mother started dating a meth addict who was bound to a halfway house who drove the car in question regularly in such a dangerous way that forced us to get maintenance work on it that would normally be too early for a brand new car. I ended up losing my job due to working myself too hard and stress that I got ill, and working a warehouse job you can lose it just by looking at a guy funny. Anyway, the car was repossessed and now I have a $9,000 debt that has kept my credit score under 500 points for several years now. My mom doesn't want to help out with paying off the debt so I was thinking about suing her. Do I have a case and what are my chances of winning it? Here in Texas.

Could you please clarify something for me?

How was it, at 21 with no job/income, you managed to get a car loan for a new car? I have never heard of such a thing...

 

[Dude_In_Texas_92]

Could you please clarify something for me?

How was it, at 21 with no job/income, you managed to get a car loan for a new car? I have never heard of such a thing...

Yeah, it was pretty sketchy all the way around. My mom had conversed with the guy selling us the car before we sat down to do paperwork. I can't remember exactly what he said but pretty much told me to make up a job title and annual income.

 

[Dude_In_Texas_92]

When I located my car after it was improperly withheld from me, I called a tow truck. Alternatively, the OP could have taken a friend who does drive.

ETA: I had to call a tow truck because the clutch was burned out by the person who had been driving it. In my case, it was the car that couldn't drive, not the owner

Was in a new city so had no friends and had no money for a tow truck - as I said I had lost my job due to illness induced by stress and exhaustion.

 

[quincy]

You could have problems if you lied on the loan documents.