Where has Aquaticedge been....

[Aquaticedge]

some of you might recall a topic last year about me searchin for a car. I eventually found one and some of you know the story. well those who have me on facebook or I've emailed.. Well. December 28th I found a car, a nice van really. 03 Town and country that had 200K on the body and 92,5 on the engine and trans. Paid around 2K for it. and took it home. Well, January tried to register it and ran into an issue... some of the paperwork was not in order. Well, trying to get paperwork fixed slowly devolved into about 3 weeks ago them slamming the phone down and not answering period. Well after my own investigations and help of a Governmental investigation, not only was the car not reposessed from the prev. Owner Correctly, the agency who had it repoed did not process it correctly (diddnt assign or change the title) and sold it to a 'Dealer' who forged their own documents saying they were a dealer who also did not do anyting with the title.... Soooo... Two Skipped owners, some Fraud times two..... I'm car-less again. aand now I'm stuck with 4,000lbs of metal I cannot sell, Part out, run on the road or do anyting with..... So thats where I've been. What i've been dealing with...

[Jim B.]

A lawsuit, unfortunately is possibly needed.

Key words might be:

interpleader

Interpleader - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

replevin (claim and delivery)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replevin

These are general only - given to you without "warranty or recourse" ... but to help you think things over.

The lawyers on here might have more concrete suggestions.

Good luck.

But, if you DO want to go to court, first find out if the process might cost you more than the car is worth.

Have you called the District Attorney's office or the legal department of the DMV up?

If THEY decide to go after someone for fraud, and for sure it sounds like at least the dealer is, you could piggyback your claim onto their criminal lawsuit,

ie, if the dealer gets prosecuted for fraud or the repossessor, to avoid jail time, they MAY agree, as part of the plea bargain, allow YOU to recover ALL your money back as a term of their criminal sentencing.

Their may be a "Assistance to Victims/Witnesses ofCcrime" department of the prosecutors office, if there *IS* such a place, perhaps THEY can help you navigate the routes and structures needed to place FULL restitution to you, and not on some "payment" plan, as an actual term and condition of Probation, (if they accepted that to avoid a State Prison sentence for the fraud crime).


If yes, then be sure and find out the actual name of the Probation officer that caught the case.

*IF* they don't pay, the Probation officer can file a "motion to revoke probation by APD" (adult Probation department) OR the DA (prosecutor) can be the one that files the motion to revoke probation by DA.


---

At these hearings evidence is presented, and if YOURS is that certain and sure, bearing in mind the standard of proof is just 51-49% in your favor, for MTR's, the Judge will rule the defendant is in violation.


2 choices then ensue.

After hearing arguments, the Judge can either:


MODIFY probation, making them pay you in full, and continue them on probation.

OR

REVOKE probation, and then send them to STATE PRISON.

(However, when sent to State Prison, the ultimate hammer, the obligations of probation cease, and this would include payment to you for anything).

IMPORTANT: If it comes to this, and the Judge modifies probation a condition of which is to pay you in full,

BE SURE that the Judge, DA and defense counsel FOR SURE put the case on calendar for "Progress Report re: restitution (to you)" on the Court's docket at a time agreed for all - with the Judge "ordering the defendant to be personally present".

That's important because if they DON'T show up for that, the Judge will order:

"defendant not present, as ordered, Probation REVOKED. Bench warrant, no bail".

^^^I have in fact seen it thousands of times happen like that in my career in court in San Francisco.

~~~~

That's how it works in California anyway.

Likely a similar version exists where you are.

Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.




And btw if you want a cheap but running car in the meantime, a real gold mine would be to try and get one at a city auction of cars that were abandoned in airport parking lots.

Obviously they ran when parked, and some are fantastic - in SF they even get Jaguars, Rolls Royces and Mercedes left in airport parking lots:

Some hotshot had the Mafia or IRS after him, and closing in fast, and so he jumped into his car and drove to the airport, and fled the country never to return.

He had to get out NOW!

Yeah it really does happen sometimes.

[Aquaticedge]

Thanks for the reply, I've turned over everything to the FL and GA DA and consumer protection agencies.... I dont know what will come of it. right now I cant get anyting til this settles out, my finances were in this van... I've looked into the auctions here and you unfortunatly have to be a dealer to buy from there and I'm not a dealer....yet.

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by Aquaticedge

Thanks for the reply, I've turned over everything to the FL and GA DA and consumer protection agencies.... I dont know what will come of it. right now I cant get anyting til this settles out, my finances were in this van... I've looked into the auctions here and you unfortunatly have to be a dealer to buy from there and I'm not a dealer....yet.

As stated above, it's ESSENTIAL that you stay on top of it.

That means having names phone numbers and emails of the people personally involved in Consumer Protection and Prosecutorial and Probation officers - and access to any appropriate hearings at these agencies, and if it goes Criminal, know the case# of the criminal court case and call the Courts, the clerk/calendar people regularly, to keep abreast of the status of proceedings!

Be a bulldog! Persist, and keep notes as you go.

Keep on top of it. Make sure they NEVER forget you and this problem, til it is over with. Find out any hearings and BE there if you can.

It's ABSOLUTELY important!

[Air&Road]

I am so sorry to hear about this. There's not much worse than getting kicked while you're down. Listen to Jim and study what he is telling you. Don't take this lying down.

Hang tough!

BTW, I'm glad to hear from you so as to at least know that you're alive and kicking. Wish there was something I could do to help.

[KarTek]

Can you bond it? That's usually a good way to get a title in the event of a SNAFU. I had to do it with my UNIMOG since the foreign title was not recognized by our local DMV.

[Aquaticedge]

I dont think I could bond it... We dont really know who it belongs to at this point. there might be a couple more peopel it traded hands with. right now it's parked off next to another car here I took the battery out and filled the Cylinders with oil... Those rear ones are a real birch to fill...this can take anywhere from 3-?? months to fix.. not worth going to jail over to drive it.

[INSIDIOUS]

Who is Aquaticedge???? And what is he doing on my monitor???

[t walgamuth]

Good luck aquaticege!

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by Aquaticedge

I dont think I could bond it... We dont really know who it belongs to at this point. there might be a couple more peopel it traded hands with. right now it's parked off next to another car here I took the battery out and filled the Cylinders with oil... Those rear ones are a real birch to fill...this can take anywhere from 3-?? months to fix.. not worth going to jail over to drive it.

Yes we do!!!

YOU own it. You are a bonafide purchaser for value.

" a bona fide purchaser for value without notice – is a term used in the law of real property and personal property to refer to an innocent party who purchases property without notice of any other party's claim to the title of that property. A BFP must purchase for value, meaning that he or she must pay for the property rather than simply be the beneficiary of a gift. Even when a party fraudulently conveys property to a BFP (for example, by selling to the BFP property that has already been conveyed to someone else), that BFP will, depending on the laws of the relevant jurisdiction, take good (valid) title to the property despite the competing claims of the other party

see more:

Bona fide purchaser - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Go gettem tiger!

[Aquaticedge]

I'm more of an investor in this lump of steel at this point..... but I do plan on following up on it. back to searching. seems to be the itme of year when the cars needing Transmissions are in bloom.

[SwampYankee]

No advice in this matter other than to echo Jim's but our thoughts are with you, bud. You sure don't need this crap!

[Aquaticedge]

a Small minor update. the one place I thought that would help. has declined to take up the case. the business 'has not shown to be a danger to the public (HA!!)' and does not have an established pattern of this type of issue' so. A big damn waste of time... I am quite unhappy... everything else I look at is a couple grand over what I managed to scrape together to find another car. looks like that now has to go to an attorney to try and fix this.... I am beyond pissed....

[iwrock]

can you put a lien on it?

[Aquaticedge]

Cant lien what you dont officially own. I have to cart this lump of metal around somehow that I guess I dont legally own... an attorney I cant afford. so I'm up that metaphorical creek without a paddle, Trolling motor or any other means of propulsion.