New Jersey Dealership Goes Under, Leaves Customers Without Titles To Their Cars
When Patrick Dunn's auto dealership in New Jersey went out of business a few months ago, something weird happened to "40 or 50" customers who had bought cars from him, writes Bob Braun at NJ.com. The company Dunn had taken out business loans with, Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC), went to Arkansas and asked for reposession of the cars in New Jersey. The Arkansas department of motor vehicles assumed AFC meant for unsold cars on the lot, so they granted the request—and now AFC says it owns titles to cars that people are already driving and paying for.
Duren says there is nothing he can do, even though his agency's actions blocked the rightful claims of New Jersey owners. He can't declare the titles invalid despite his belief AFC had physical possession of the cars when it filed those affidavits.
"I'd need a court order for that," he says.
Funny, that's what Ed Alvarado of South Plainfield was told, too. He bought a car from Galaxy that was financed by AFC and, like others, he got a loan from PNC.
"I was told by PNC I should get a court order and get title from AFC," he says.
As for New Jersey's motor vehicle department, they say they are equally helpless:
"We can feel personally outraged, but there is nothing we can do," says Sandy Grossman, a representative of the state Motor Vehicle Commission. "It's probably a criminal matter, and we don't have law enforcement authority."
"N.J. leaves car buyers stranded in title dispute" [NJ.com] (Thanks to Sean!)
(Photo: exfordy)
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Comments:
Hold on, let me prepare for the barrage of "NJ Sucks" comments.
"Hey I'm GetemSteveDave. NJ ain't so bad compared to OLD Jersey! Get it?
"Uhehm. Anyway, how about that smell! Everywhere except on exit 13......."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Get off the stage!
(I wouldn't remember your jokes if I didn't love you SteveDave)
:D
This is a-typical government bureaucratic bullshit. When it comes to screwing people they're a can-do lot. If it's regarding helping people they've screwed, well their hands are all tied up!
The rub is it's going to cost these victims lawyer fees because the Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles is staffed by fucking mouth breathers. Who are either incapable, or too lazy to perform due-diligence.
Wal-Mart greeters check receipts to confirm people walking out the door actually purchased the items they're carrying. Apparently that level of in-depth investigation and training is beyond the fools working for the Arkansas DMV.
@madog: That should have been a reply to DaBull so it would have been hidden to only those willing to look.
And sorry if I come off as a dick (let me know).
The linked article gives a better explanation on what happened. I was a bit confused by the summary
This really sounds like an open-and-shut case. What is the small claims maximum in NJ? Sue and get your title fixed.
If small claims is too wimpy, nothing but complex legal procedure (procedure the clerk at the courthouse will help you with, especially if you explain your story) bars an individual from suing in "real" court.
Why don't they just make a few "campaign contributions" since that is how New Jersey functions.
ohh NJ how I love you so. You never cease to entertain me. I think we need to start a "Leave New Jersey" charity so we can help all those ailing to leave NJ find a better place somewhere else in the world.
I get the gut feeling that there is a huge jurisdiction issue for an administrative agency to exert power over non-resident, non-consenting parties. So, there's a clear action for Dunn, assuming that he wasn't an idiot and agreed to anything.
The people with their cars, fortunately, ought to be able to keep them. Under the UCC, anybody who buys something from another with voidable title inherits good title. The loans should be immaterial to the claim.
Sadly, this is really not something that is fixed outside the court if NJ isn't willing to do it. But, an enterprising lawyer could consolidate the claims, methinks, and get the collective people their cars.
IIALS, so this can't be legal advice even if I wanted it to be.
Sounds like you've never been to NJ. Or at least you haven't been outside of the immediate vicinity of NYC and Philadelphia. Yeah, NJ has some industrial areas, but the majority of the state is suburban and even rural. A friend from Michigan came out here for my wedding, and the first thing he said when he arrived at my house was "NJ has a ton of trees."
@madog: I thought you were being a dick at first, but then you made it clear that you're doing it out of love. :) It's alllll good.
Wouldn't this fall under a federal situation since it crosses state lines? If the people paying for the cars are suddenly missing the cars, it probably falls under some really, really nasty federal racketeering charges....
@LanciePants: LOL @ receipt-checking joke. That totally made my day.
Also, does the phrase "mouth breathers" ever get old? I think not.
@madog: That's GitEmStevedave, with an "i".
And Exit 13 is where NJ's smell comes from. BTW, Exit 98 representing!
The illustration used seems to be from the 1960s TV show "The Prisoner", where "Number Six" once escaped from his captors, only to return home and find someone else living in his flat, and that same someone else claiming to have bought his car (a Lotus 7, no less) along with the flat.
The number of levels on which this picture is appropriate for the story told is impressive.
The AFC company simply defrauded the DMV, so the DMV needs to take action against the AFC company. There is no impact at all on titles held by banks or individuals, as those are the ORIGINAL titles, and the ones generated by the DMV are "duplicate" or "replacement" titles. Dates matter, oldest title wins.
Slam dunk. Anyone who wants can likely sue for treble damages, as the number of different kinds of fraud in play here are many, but they at least include contract fraud and "attempted conversion".
@GitEmSteveDave_SomeAssemblyRequired: You know you're from NJ when you can tell by looking at the exit number whether someone is taking about the Turnpike or the Parkway (grew up off 117A myself)
I remember some time ago NJ privatized their DMV. Could that be why they have no authority?
@jfischer: It's similar, but it's not the same car or from the series (and the head isn't right for either actor). Here's a picture of the car: [www.guardian.co.uk]
@Cant_stop_the_rock: Jersey is BEAUTIFUL. Just... stay as far the !@#$ away from Camden and Newark as humanly possible. Out by Lakewood, NJ there's amazing forests, parks and other incredible recreation. Whenever I go up there I always take a detour on my way back and drive through the woodlands. Beautiful area.
@PunditGuy: I live in a bedroom community about an hour or so outside NYC. There are FARMS here. I am SURROUNDED by farms.
@PunditGuy: The one time we drove through NJ to the beach it was all closed down liquor stores and abandoned buildings. Not a garden in sight!
Nice Picture of a Caterham SV!
It sounds like the problem is that two different companies used the same cars for collateral - AFC and PNC. Both companies DO have legit claims to the title.
I'm surprised that PNC loaned the money out in the first place without a title, and that they aren't being more proactive in trying to make sure their legal claim to their collateral is upheld.
@GitEmSteveDave_SomeAssemblyRequired: It's truly sad when I can remember someone's comments from weeks ago, but forgot my wife's age for like a few days (but I did finally remember). The fact that I even forgot was pretty awful.
But then again I thought I was turning 28 this year and I was wrong..... ("Damnit, Frank! You forgot your birthday again?!?")
@PunditGuy: If you knew anything about history you'd understand that not only is NJ one of the greatest places to grow almost anything but was a critical farm state that produced most of the wheat and produce the other colonies ate.
why do you think some of the most important and so many battles were fought against the British in NJ?
We are the 3rd largest producer of cranberries.
@Preyfar: Such as Allaire! Also close to Lakewood, near picturesque Howell, is the home and secret base of operations of famed Gawker Commenter, GitEmSteveDave.
New Jersey & Alabama: a marriage made in Heaven!
(storing my thrown rice for the upcoming nuptials of the next-best coupling: Alaska & Mississippi)
@LanciePants: Well, just so your ire is pointed at the right target, it was a private company from Alabama that started the whole mess.
You might blame the 'Bama DMV for trusting businesses too much, but since the gummint is always worse than the private market (cough), wouldn't that be sacrilegious?
@shepd:
That's an excellent point but still the people shouldn't have to jump through the hoops. It pisses me off to no end (self evident right?) when two organizations screw the pooch. Then it's up to the victim to fix their fuck-ups.
@Trai_Dep:
I agree, just as guilty if not more. However usually but not all the time, if a company inadvertently screws a customer they'll try and do right. Obviously this isn't one of those cases.
But with the government if you're not dealing with the judicial system, it's always guilty until proven innocent, with the burden of guilt placed squarely on the accused. They'll bone citizens because they dumb or lazy, usually both. Then saddle the boned with the responsibility of fixing their mess.
My hometown in NJ is next to a National Wildlife Refuge and driving a few miles west puts you in the middle of lots of horse farms.
@chiieddy:
NJ de-privatized the DMV a several years ago, and it's one of the best things to have happened to that institution in a long time. A trip to the DMV went from an ordeal on the order of pulling teeth to being rather efficient and surprisingly pleasant.
You can't get the title until the car is paid for, and you can't pay for the car until you get the loan.
@GitEmSteveDave_SomeAssemblyRequired: Thank you for not using the corporate john's name of the Arts Center.
@GitEmSteveDave_SomeAssemblyRequired: I've misspelled it multiple times come to think of it, but maybe, just maybe, you spelled it wrong? Huh? Ya ever think of that? Did you even see the script?!?!?!? TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!!
@Vandelay Import Export: If I didn't already see the Human Fund get used somewhere I would have been all over it.
@shepd: 3,000, with a possibility of 5,000 (Never did find out how that worked). But since it involves an out of state company, they would need to file a regular lawsuit.
I'm just confused how a court in Alabama can order the repossession of New Jersey, sold and registered cars.
Actually, the big issue is that because AFC has the titles, and not the bank, the people in this mess cannot even drive their vehicles. None of the cars affected by this have plates or registration, and they cannot get them until the bank has the title. So people have these cars sitting in their driveways that they're not legally allowed to drive, yet they're still being made to pay for them.
@chiieddy: You know you're from NJ when you give your exit number when telling people where you're from. Really, it's only a Jersey thing...
@DaBull: NJ doesn't suck it is the 8 million people, taxes, skinny store aisles, high car insurance prices, unending traffic, mafia graft, and legions of scammy little municipalities (with their own police forces) that suck.
Ex-NJ Boy now in TN
Gotts love the proactive nj dmv -NOT!-.
I'm sure the head of dmv can call the state attorney general or the federal prosecutor for a quick injunction against the offending company.
as the saying goes the AG can get an indictment against a ham sandwich at a pig farm with no effort.
@nato0519: Anyone else notice that you have to pay to leave New Jersey? Every bridge and tunnel has the tolls on the outbound side.
I wish this would have happened to my Colorado - I'd be more than happy to just give that back. Never again Chevy - never again.