Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

My girlfriends x boyfriend gave her 16 year old daughter a truck for her 16th birthday. He never tranfered the car into her name and six months later he stole the car back from our driveway. We had asked him numerouse times to take care of the paperwork and he said he would but never did. He claims he did not take the car yet he did not file a police report regarding it stolen. We have text messages from him stating that he was going to transfer the car over and that he did not take it back as well as him stating that he did report it stolen when infact he didnt. Can we sue him for the value of the car? And can we some how go around him to get the title transfered over?


Asked on 1/20/11, 9:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Although this is not a "real estate and real property" question, I'll give you a suggestion. This sounds like an appropriate matter for small-claims court, if you'd be satisfied with $7,500 or less. Looks to me like a completed gift, which transfers ownership, and taking the vehicle away would be a tort called "conversion," which is the civil equivalent of the crime of theft. Get a small-claims self-help book and read up.

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Answered on 1/26/11, 10:10 am


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