Can someone withhold truck title from buyer?

[cynatnite]

Here's the thing.

The husband bought his truck and trailer from a guy in Arizona for a total of $50,000. Right after it was paid off, the husband was injured and he still owes the carrier he was leased onto for past repairs. The guy in Arizona sent the title to the carrier in Montana because my husband was scheduled to go there to retrieve title, bring it home and have it transferred into his name. That never happened because he was injured and we had to fly him home since he was unable to drive. The truck and trailer are still in Montana.

So, now we have a buyer for both the trailer and the truck. Thing is, his bank wants the title (already transferred to my husband's name) in order to release the funds.

The carrier is refusing to give us the title. There is no lien on the title at all. We do have a copy of the title and we also have a bill of sale.

Finances being what they are, we can't pay the carrier what we owe them without the sale of the truck. And the carrier won't give up the title.

Two questions:

Can the carrier legally keep the title despite there being no lien and it still being in the name of the guy my husband brought it from?

Can we take the copy of the title and the bill of sale to the tag office and get the title transferred and into my husband's name without the original title?

Oh and a third...maybe we just ought to sue the carrier for the title? We really don't want that extra headache either.

Some good knowledgeable advice would be great. We really don't know what to do at this point. Even if we lost this buyer, we'd still be at the same crossroads because the truck can't be sold until the title situation is straightened out.

[2naSalit]

1. I would take

The docs you have to registrar and see what they say. I don't get why the carrier would have the title. And what does your lease agreement say about these things?

It doesn't make sense that you don't have the original in your name. The folks at the registration office should be able to answer your questions, I think the carrier might be withholding the title illegally.

I suggest checking with the authorities, lodge a complaint and make sure the title doesn't leave your hands until the $ is also in your hands. Don't let anyone bully you about that.

[cynatnite]

2. The plan is to go to the registration office tomorrow...

We need to know what our rights are.

As I said above, my husband was scheduled to get the title but was hurt before he could. The carrier had always been good with us in the years he's worked with them and we had no reason to think otherwise until now.

I went over the contract agreement twice and there is nothing that says the carrier has any right to do this.

The lease agreement was not with the carrier. It was through the previous owner.

We do think the carrier is holding it illegally. We don't want this to get tied up for an extended period of time. When we told them about this buyer, the carrier began digging their heels in about this even though it means they don't get what's owed to them. They can't do anything with the equipment since it's not in their name and we have proof that it's legally ours.

Thanks!

[2naSalit]

3. Probably should

Consult an attorney then.

[cynatnite]

4. It's an even bigger shit-show than we realized

It's a commercial vehicle and the previous owner mailed an open title which is illegal. The Arizona county clerk signed off on that with her notarization. Not only that, with the title being in Arizona and the carrier in Montana, my husband was running illegally all that time because the title was not transferred at the beginning the lease with the previous owner as the lien holder. There are a lot of liabilities here and I think we may have to consult a lawyer anyway. Ugh.

[2naSalit]

5. Wow

That kind of stuff uesd to happen back in the 70s and 80s. It's still going on, yikes. So get with a lawyer, you'll lose too much if you don't.