by "SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
Published 02/23/2017 at 08:55
by "SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
Published 02/23/2017 at 08:55
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STARS: 7
Oh, the times I’ve gotten panicked phone calls from people who exclaim: “I sold a car to someone and now they’re threatening to sue me! What do I do?” First: Don’t Panic.
Three of you will get that. As for everyone else, most threats don’t go farther than the threat stage. But if you ran an honest ad and didn’t do anything too crazy during the sale, you should be fine even if you are sued.
I’d suspect that about 1% of all threats such as these turn into actual lawsuits. And of those, most are in small claims. Dress nice, show up and explain to the judge how you just sold a car and the buyer is over reaching.
On the off-chance that they actually sue you with an actual attorney in regular court then yes, you may have to hire an attorney and defend it. You’ll probably still win but it might cost you. The good news is that these situations (where the car was simply sold as-is without any promises or outright provable objective lies by the seller) usually go well for the seller.
I explain it all in this week’s podcast. The audio:
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And the video:
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Follow me on Twitter: @stevelehto
Hear my podcast on iTunes: Lehto’s Law
Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 25 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and Michigan lemon law. He wrote The Lemon Law Bible and Preston Tucker and His Battle to Build the Car of Tomorrow.
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
02/23/2017 at 09:02, STARS: 4
When I was a PI we called these hollow threats “The Judge Judy Effect”
"jasmits" (jasmits)
02/23/2017 at 09:33, STARS: 0
What car is that in the picture?? (maybe the podcast explains it but I can’t listen to it in class and I’m really curious)
"jimz" (jimz)
02/23/2017 at 09:38, STARS: 2
Tucker 48, of course!
"jimz" (jimz)
02/23/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
I assume concealing defects (if provable) would be actionable as lying about the condition of the vehicle. Here I am thinking about the case you talked about a while back, IIRC it was a Suburban where the seller filled the engine with gear oil instead of motor oil.
When I sold my SRT-4, I made sure to include as much of the history as I could and any flaws I knew about. and there were a few; there was some rust bubbling starting, one of the headlamp mounts was broken, etc. also, I printed out two copies of the Autotrader listing, and on the bill of sale (which I and the buyer both signed in duplicate) I stated that “buyer has been provided with a copy of the AutoTrader advertisement describing the vehicle to the best of the seller’s knowledge.”
it ended up not mattering much since he just flipped the car (re-sold, not wrecked) but hopefully that sort of thing would protect me in these cases.
"smobgirl" (smobgirl)
02/23/2017 at 09:56, STARS: 0
It’s cool how so many of his stories stick, isn’t it?
"haveacarortwoorthree2" (haveacarortwoorthree2)
02/23/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 0
The only thing I would add is that in some states, sending a letter actually is required as a prerequisite to bringing certain claims in a lawsuit, particularly if you want to recover attorney’s fees.
"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
02/23/2017 at 10:22, STARS: 0
Yes, but the buyer has to prove you did it. Which can be difficult. I’m not advising it - I am merely pointing out that many people think a seller concealed a defect, when it could just as easily have been unknown to them too.
"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
02/23/2017 at 10:24, STARS: 0
I’ve never heard of that. Can you give an example of the state/law?
I know in some specific ACTIONS a notice is required but it usually makes sense. Like if someone slanders you in MICH, you can send a demand for retraction and if they don’t retract, it escalates their liability.
"haveacarortwoorthree2" (haveacarortwoorthree2)
02/23/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 0
Texas DTPA requires notice. Now you can file suit without sending the notice, but the defendant can file for a 60-day abatement. In breach of contract cases governed by Texas law, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Sections 38.001 and .002(2) provide that a successful plaintiff may recover attorney’s fees if suit notice was provided and “payment for the just amount owed must not have been tendered before the expiration of the 30th day after the claim is presented.” I also should add that my first comment probably was a bit sloppily worded/phrased,
"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
02/23/2017 at 10:52, STARS: 0
Interesting. So it is - in essence - a fee-shifting statute that gets invoked if you send the pre-suit notice. I think that is a fantastic idea but MICH generally hates fee-shifting statutes so we have very few of them here.
The beauty of the TX law is that it reduces litigation I would guess. Which would seem like a good thing. But I’d bet the various business groups out there opposed it when it was being debated.
"bnceo" (bnceo)
02/24/2017 at 09:27, STARS: 1
I see these cases on Judge Judy all the time. The buyer almost never wins for the reasons stated. You have the prove that the seller intentionally deceived the buyer. A contract stating all the conditions of the vehicle helps in this. But if a contract is fine, that is the key of them all. Anything verbal is just puffing. To avoid these, it helps that the buyer gets a PPI. If the seller won’t let you do it, run away.