Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Hi,

I purchased & paid for a vehicle in May, finally got it running & able to be smogged last week. Went to the DMV with the previous owner, she signed off on the vehicle and also took me to the bank to get an old lien signed off. The car was $1,000.00 which was a great deal even not running, and I put in another $1,000.00 to fix it, plus $650.00 to register it as she hadn't registered it in over 2 years.

After getting the paperwork completed and registered in my name (did DMV work at AAA with no problems) she then told me she had just found out she has a judgement against her for $10,000 for non-payment of office/commercial rent. Her landlord there was a local attorney. She said she has received no paperwork or summons and she found out about it through a realtor who is selling one of her properties. She is very disorganized and doesn't have any answers. She said the judgement was from an eviction that happened at the end of the summer this year. I have searched the county court for info on the judgement but found nothing.

My question is, am I at risk of having to give back the vehicle? I have a contract signed & dated in May 2010 but the DMV paperwork shows a "sale date" of October 6th, 2010 because that is when I was finally able to get it registered.

What should I be prepared for and what can I do to protect myself further?

Thank you!


Asked on 10/10/10, 8:03 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

If the judgment creditor had decided to go after the car, there would have been a writ of execution issued and the car would probably have already been taken by the sheriff. Since you paid fair market value for it, it seems, and the value is so small, there would be no meaningful risk of a fraudulent conveyance action. So I cannot think of any reason you have to be concerned about this judgment against the seller as long as you have title with no liens.

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Answered on 10/15/10, 8:12 am
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

I agree with the previous answer, and would add that you seem to fall into the category of a "bona fide purchaser for value and without notice" (of the possible title defect) and that this would be a defense against a creditor claim.

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Answered on 10/15/10, 8:38 am


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