Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Liability of Lienholder
If a legal owner of a vehicle gets into an accident and does not have insurance, can the lienholder (A PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL) be held liable in any way?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The legal owner is really the what you call the lien holder. The registered owner has possession and control of the vehicle which the legal owner can repossess for nonpayment of the debt. The legal owner is not liable for the damage caused by the registered owner. The legal owner should insist that the registered owner carry collission and comprehensive coverage to protect the collateral. The problem also is tha if the registered owner has no liability insurance the police can impound the vehicle for 30 days and if the registered owner does not get the car out from the tow yard the vehicle is sold to satisfy the tow yard's lien. As the legal owner you can pay the tow yard and recover the car but what a hassle!