After selling a vehicle, if the new owner gets into an accident and has never re-registered the car, can the original owner be sued?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
After selling a vehicle, if the new owner gets into an accident and has never re-registered the car, can the original owner be sued?
My wife, girlfriend at the time sold her car a few years back. Both seller and buyer signed the transfer of title and ownership. Apparently, the buyer never bothered to register the car under their name at the DMV. So they get into an accident with no insurance and no drivers license. Now the other party of the accident is trying to sue us, and hold us liable for this accident which took place years ago for which we did not know about. How is this even lawful and why does their lawyer calling us harassing us about this? Shouldn’t they pursue the individual involved in the accident?
Asked on September 9, 2010 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, when a person fails to register the car even through a lawful sale, it can create a whole host of problems both for the individual who sold the vehicle and the buyer who failed to register the vehicle. In addition to possible fraud violations both for insurance purposes (especially where in California insurance is required) and for any accident matters. Here, your wife was properly sued (because she is the legal title holder) but she now needs to counter sue the buyer or file a motion in court to be dismissed as a respondent because she no longer technically owned the vehicle and did not have control of the car. This is where having a copy of the title signed by both parties would be quite helpful.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.