QUESTION
What would I need to do if I bought a car from a person who was not the owner of the car?
Asked on Apr 03rd, 2016 on Contracts - Tennessee
More details to this question:
I bought a car from a private owner. I ensured that the correct paperwork was filled out and gave the private owner the financial amount that was agreed upon. I took the paper work to the county clerk's office in order to get the title in my name. The employees at the county clerk's office informed me that the private owner I bought the car from needed to have had the title and tags in his name in order for him to have sold the car, which it wasn't. Due to how I have already bought the car from the private owner, I made several attempts to contact him through phone calls in order to have him put the car title and tags in his name. After several avoided phone calls from him, I drove to the home that he is associated with in order to talk to him. After talking to him, he showed signs of being uncooperative with placing the title and tags in his name. What would I need to do in order to legally receive a refund for the car or legally force him to get the title and tags in his name?
1 ANSWER
When the seller sold you the vehicle without the title being in his name, he broke a variety of civil and criminal laws. When your seller sold you the car, he warranted by law that he was the owner of the car, the titled onveyed shall be good, and its transfer was rightful. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-2-312. Also, by doing this he is guilty of theft of property. If he won't cooperate in getting the title transferred into your name, then you have a couple of options: (1) you can sue him in General Sessions court for a refund; and/or (2) you can take out a criminal warrant against him for theft.
Answered on Apr 04th, 2016 at 3:26 AM