Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Is it a Crime?

i purchased a car for a friend who had filed bankruptcy and could not get a loan. The agreement was he would make the car and insurance payments. it was also agreed he would secure his own loan in a year to assume responsibility for the car. it has been well over a year and he has not done this. in addition he has stopped making the car and insurance payments. i told him to give me the car back so it could be sold and my credit was not ruined. he refusses. The car is registered in my name only and the insurrance for the car in also in my name only. Is what he is doing a crime. what actions can i take before the loan company comes after me? I have tried to go get the car but he is moving around alot.


Asked on 4/02/05, 7:22 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: Is it a Crime?

It is probable that the police will not take any action as they may consider it to be a civil dispute. You should contact the police and if they will not take action, then contact an attorney and get an order for the vehicle to be picked up and held. Just taking the car may pose some risk to you financially.

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Answered on 4/04/05, 11:46 am
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Is it a Crime?

Unless he intended from the start to stiff you, he has merely breached a contract and has not committed a crime. Since you didn't make the payments you agreed to make, you also have breached a contract. Depending upon what your contract said, it is possible (but unlikely) that you committed a crime even if he didn't.

What actions can you take? Well, you can make the payments your friend missed, and continue making them. That will likely satisfy the lender, but it won't get your car or your money back from your friend.

You can also sue the friend for breach of contract and replevin. Replevin is the legal term for a lawsuit seeking the return of property, and once you file such a suit you can seek a court order requiring this guy to turn the car back over to you while the lawsuit progresses. You will have to have someone else serve him with the lawsuit and all the subsequent papers and you will have to bear the risk that he will iugnore the court proceedings just as he has ignored his obligations to you.

The bottom line is that the lender has a contract with you and not with your friend. Your friend's failure to meet his commitment to you is your problem and not the lender's. This means that even if you can get this guy into court, the court will only order him to pay money to you and not to the lender. You are going to have to make good on the loan unless you and the lender can reach a settlement or you decide to go bankrupt.

The reason lenders wouldn't give your friend credit is because they would deem him unlikely to pay what he owes. You chose to take the risk that they would not, and now that the risk has turned out badly you must deal with the consequences.

Other readers who are thinking about playing middle-man in a deal like this should understand that they also risk the problems that you have experienced.

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Answered on 4/02/05, 7:48 pm


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