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Lien Sales -- Civil Code § 3068

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Court of Appeal (Tex.) Confirms City’s Right to Demand Proof of Title from Auto Finance Lender Before Returning Possession of Impounded Vehicles

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Santander Consumer USA, Inc. v. City of San Antonio, No. 04-20-00341-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 10314 (Tex. App. Dec. 30, 2020), the Court of Appeal found no conflict between Gramm-Leach Bliley and the City’s impound laws.  The facts were as follows: In San Antonio, when a vehicle is abandoned, towed from a collision site, or seized in connection with… Read More

Defendants in California Convicted of Grand Theft Auto For Lien-Sale Misconduct — “‘an obscure little backwater’ area of the law”

by Scott J. Hyman |

Despite the Court of Appeal's surprise in having to deal with this "obscure little backwater area of the law" -- to quote the Court -- , practitioners know that the fact pattern of which the defendants were convicted is not that unusual.   In People v. Ali Maadarani, 2016 WL 5940319, at *13 (Cal.App. 3 Dist., 2016), the Court of Appeal found that… Read More

Court of Appeal (Cal.) Affirms Set Aside of Automobile Lien Sale by Mechanic Because Purchaser Knew of Finance Company’s Lien and Was Not a Bona-fide Purchaser

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Nuvision Federal Credit Union v. Beliciu, 2014 WL 3670006 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2014), the Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit in an unpublished decision affirmed a trial court’s finding that a buyer of a car at a lien sale was not a bona fide purchaser because the buyer knew of the secured party’s lien and conspired to void… Read More

Auto Finance Credit Union (Cal.) Able to Sue Body Shop for Conversion for Interfering with Security Interest

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Los Angeles Federal Credit Union v. Madatyan (2012) 2012 WL 4830255, the customer purchased a 2000 Bentley, financed by his credit union.   The RISC required the customer to insure the car against collision damage and name the credit union as a loss payee.  The car was damaged.  The customer's repair shop estimated repair costs at $39,000.  The insurer paid… Read More