Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Alabama

Re: Title loan repossessions

It sounds like you may have a claim against the pawnbroker. Did you have a pawn ticket? You might have a claim for conversion. Under the Pawnbrokers statute, the following is provided, buy you would have had to comply with the terms of the pawn ticket:

Section 5-19A-9

Pledgor presenting pawn ticket entitled to redeem or repurchase goods; lost or damaged pledged goods in possession of pawnbroker; lost, destroyed, or stolen pawn ticket.

(a) Any person properly identified as pledgor or as authorized representative of the pledgor and presenting a pawn ticket to the pawnbroker shall be entitled to redeem or repurchase the pledged goods described in the ticket. In the event pledged goods are lost or damaged while in the possession of the pawnbroker, it shall be the responsibility of the pawnbroker to replace the lost or damaged goods with like kinds of merchandise and proof of replacement shall be a defense to any prosecution. For the purposes of this subsection, "lost" includes pledged goods that have been destroyed or have disappeared due to willful neglect that results in the pledged goods being unavailable for return to the pledgor.

Also, the Pawnbrokers act provides:

Section 5-19A-8

Certain acts by pawnbrokers prohibited.

A pawnbroker, any clerk, agent, or employee of a pawnbroker shall not do any of the following:

(1) Fail to make an entry of any material matter in the record book.

(2) Make any false entry therein.

(3) Falsify, obliterate, destroy, or remove from the place of business records, books, or accounts relating to the licensee's pawn transactions.

(4) Refuse to allow the supervisor, the appropriate law enforcement agency, the Attorney General, or any other duly authorized state or federal law enforcement officer to inspect the pawn records or any pawn goods during the ordinary hours of business or other acceptable time to both parties.

(5) Fail to maintain a record of each pawn transaction for at least four years.

(6) Accept a pledge or purchase property from a person under the age of 19 years.

(7) Make any agreement requiring the personal liability of a pledgor or seller or waiving any of the provisions of this section or providing for a maturity date less than 30 days after the date of the pawn transaction.

(8) Fail to return or replace pledged goods to a pledgor or seller upon payment of the full amount due the pawnbroker unless the pledged goods have been taken into custody by a court or by a law enforcement officer or agency.

(9) Sell, lease, or agree to sell or lease pledged or purchased goods back to the pledgor or back to the seller and the same or related transaction.

(10) Sell or otherwise charge for insurance in connection with a pawn transaction.

Re: Title loan repossessions

Well, there are a number of questions that need to be addressed before I would be able to answer that question definitively. Your most likely course of action is to sue the lender under a state law cause of action for an illegal repo sale or possibly even fraud. You may also have a claim under a federal law such as Truth in Lending. I would have to see the loan agreement, disclosures and a more detailed accounting of what happened before proceeding but it sounds like you may have some recourse.