QUESTION
What type of lawyer do I need to sue a bank for breach of contract.
Asked on Nov 13th, 2013 on Breach of Contract - New York
More details to this question:
I cosigned for a car in 2011, the primary died in March 2013. I contacted the bank to transfer title etc into my name in April. The insurance expired in June, I cannot register the car because the NY DMV requires that the car title be changed to my name instead of primary's name. Bank says they will have to contact NJ DMV to have title changed, sent death certificate as proof for change. As of today, 8 months later I still do not have the documentation to register and insure the car. I have called too many times to count, finally someone in the Title dept was trying to help get the proper documents to me and she was not able to get the name changed. As of September 30, 2013 I was told by by this person that she does not know what to do next. I stopped paying the car note in October, I am being harassed daily for $ for a car I cannot drive, nor can I insure. I want to sue to get out of this contract, return the car and not have my credit report negatively impacted
1 ANSWER
When you write that you cosigned for a car, do you mean that you were a joint owner of the car or just that you cosigned the car loan? If you just mean that you cosigned the loan, how did you become the owner of the car? If the owner of the car died with a will, the car would pass according to that will. If not, the car would pass on the basis of the laws of intestacy. Either way, the car would not become yours simply because the owner died, but rather a proceeding would have to be commenced in the appropriate court which would authorize someone (an executor/executrix or administrator/administrator) to dispose of the decedent's assets.
If you were a joint owner of the car (a joint owner means that complete ownership automatically passes to the surviving owner upon the death of the other joint owner;even if you owned half the car, if you owned it as a tenant in common, rather than a joint tenant, title to the car would not pass to you automatically, and someone would have to start a court proceeding), you can seek to rescind the contract, arguing that the bank has materially breached it by failing for so long to get you what you needed to transfer title.
If, however, you were not a joint owner but only a cosigner of the loan, only someone authorized by the court to act on behalf of the estate can change title. It's not the bank's fault (that is, it is not a breach of contract by the bank) that no court proceeding has yet been commenced.
Answered on Nov 13th, 2013 at 4:46 PM