in_california1
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CALIFORNIA
TL;DR: I gave away an SUV, i filled out the release of liability and transfer notice through the DMV. New owner did not register it. New owner is now dead. I have a bill for $5,000.
SUV was taken for a joy ride by someone else and was impounded by CHP for a mandatory 30 days. I got an extortion letter from the towing company listing me as the registered owner and looking to collect an easy $5,000 ($75/day storage, plus fees, and more fees). If I do nothing it will be sold off or auctioned, however the towing company might bill me for whatever is not covered after the sale, if I don't pay they can also try to sue me. Do they have a case against me? How am I still the registered owner? What's the point of the "Release of Liability" then?
Long Version: In November 2014 I drove to northern California (from southern California) to give my father an SUV because he did not have reliable transportation and needed something to go to and from doctors appointments, etc. I gave him the pink slip (car title), we filled it out, wrote down current mileage etc, I checked the box that said I was gifting in to him. I filled out the "Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability" through the DMV website and that was that, or so I thought.
I returned back to Los Angeles shortly after. Sadly, my father's health took a turn for the worse, he never got a chance to go to the DMV to get the SUV registered in his name. He passed away without warning two months later in January of this year. My mom (or maybe my brother) still have the pink slip.
Two months ago my younger brother decided to take it out for a joy ride and got pulled over by CHP. He freaked out and lied to the cop, gave him false name and some other nonsense. Cop did not actually have any legal basis for impounding other than expired vehicle registration but decided to get it impounded anyway for a mandatory 30 days! I guess as a lesson for lying to a cop.
The part I need legal advice with: Earlier this week I received a NOTICE OF PENDING LIEN SALE from the towing company called by CHP up in northern California to pick up my dad's SUV. Fees are a ridiculous $75/day plus bunch of other fees, in all I'm looking at close to $5,000. The DMV lien sale notice has ME listed as the registered owner. Is that right? The legal owner box is blank. The interested parties box has my dad's name and his address. My brother, the one responsible for this mess is not listed anywhere.
If you've followed all that so far then this is the tricky bit... my dad and I have/had very similar names--same first name but different middle names. On paper it all looks like this all just one person, but it's not. I'm in Los Angeles, I was 300+ miles away while all this was going on.
So, what am I looking at here? Is the towing company just trying to shake me down but has no legal case, or as the last registered owner am I still liable for all those fees?
Is there any sense in having my mom mail in the DMV registration now posthumously, or going to the DMV in person with my fathers death certificate to clear this up? I would prefer to keep her out of all this, losing my father has been difficult enough.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
TL;DR: I gave away an SUV, i filled out the release of liability and transfer notice through the DMV. New owner did not register it. New owner is now dead. I have a bill for $5,000.
SUV was taken for a joy ride by someone else and was impounded by CHP for a mandatory 30 days. I got an extortion letter from the towing company listing me as the registered owner and looking to collect an easy $5,000 ($75/day storage, plus fees, and more fees). If I do nothing it will be sold off or auctioned, however the towing company might bill me for whatever is not covered after the sale, if I don't pay they can also try to sue me. Do they have a case against me? How am I still the registered owner? What's the point of the "Release of Liability" then?
Long Version: In November 2014 I drove to northern California (from southern California) to give my father an SUV because he did not have reliable transportation and needed something to go to and from doctors appointments, etc. I gave him the pink slip (car title), we filled it out, wrote down current mileage etc, I checked the box that said I was gifting in to him. I filled out the "Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability" through the DMV website and that was that, or so I thought.
I returned back to Los Angeles shortly after. Sadly, my father's health took a turn for the worse, he never got a chance to go to the DMV to get the SUV registered in his name. He passed away without warning two months later in January of this year. My mom (or maybe my brother) still have the pink slip.
Two months ago my younger brother decided to take it out for a joy ride and got pulled over by CHP. He freaked out and lied to the cop, gave him false name and some other nonsense. Cop did not actually have any legal basis for impounding other than expired vehicle registration but decided to get it impounded anyway for a mandatory 30 days! I guess as a lesson for lying to a cop.
The part I need legal advice with: Earlier this week I received a NOTICE OF PENDING LIEN SALE from the towing company called by CHP up in northern California to pick up my dad's SUV. Fees are a ridiculous $75/day plus bunch of other fees, in all I'm looking at close to $5,000. The DMV lien sale notice has ME listed as the registered owner. Is that right? The legal owner box is blank. The interested parties box has my dad's name and his address. My brother, the one responsible for this mess is not listed anywhere.
If you've followed all that so far then this is the tricky bit... my dad and I have/had very similar names--same first name but different middle names. On paper it all looks like this all just one person, but it's not. I'm in Los Angeles, I was 300+ miles away while all this was going on.
So, what am I looking at here? Is the towing company just trying to shake me down but has no legal case, or as the last registered owner am I still liable for all those fees?
Is there any sense in having my mom mail in the DMV registration now posthumously, or going to the DMV in person with my fathers death certificate to clear this up? I would prefer to keep her out of all this, losing my father has been difficult enough.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.