My Fiance and I both had our name on the title to my car. While I was told that he took it to the shop to get worked on, it turns out he sold it. Without my knowledge, permission, or signature. He never gave me any money from it, instead used it to & ...

Submitted by Tempi on

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Question: 

My Fiance and I both had our name on the title to my car. While I was told that he took it to the shop to get worked on, it turns out he sold it. Without my knowledge, permission, or signature. He never gave me any money from it, instead used it to "upgrade" our business. Now he has decided to break up with me and force me to leave. (Fine, Whatever is Peaceful.) My Questions start here. What are my rights about my car, and what rights do I have concerning our business that we owed and worked together with one other partner? Somehow They have managed to exclude my name from all the paperwork. I worked for us for 3 years, never getting a paycheck. Now I'm being told I have nothing owed to me, no stake in the business, no right to any money from the profits. Do I have any legal legs to stand on here?

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
Though you placed a written marker down about “my question starts here,” I’m making another assumption. The way your Ex decided to hide your ownership in the car is obviously similar to a potential claim of how he handled (or hid) your assets from the business you operated together. The reason to tie these factors together is that you have a stronger case to demand a full accounting about lost property by demanding a complete inventory. This right to an accounting, by the way, is a common right among “partners.” The minute you start excluding items from that accounting, the more likely you are to blur the lines between gifts, romantic relations, and business agreements.
 
So resist any temptation to segment his conduct, because you will get closer to what you are owed, by not compromising at the beginning. And you can also consider keeping the peace by offering to use a mediator to help settle this whole thing in a less confrontational yet still legal way… http://www.omediate.org/pg20.cfm.
 
Define Your Status
 
The law has several different types of protections, and they depend on what relationship status you have with someone. There is a criminal element in this case too, from the possibility of a fraudulent auto title transfer and then on to what happened to you as a co-worker, part owner, or employee. Depending on your financial situation, you can get free or low-cost legal advice on what these tangled legal relationships are. Plus, having an affordable lawyer right away can also send a strong signal to your ex-partners to get honest. Try here… http://www.law help.org/program/694/index.cfm.
 
What Evidence Do You Have?
 
Start by looking at how the business was created, set up, and operated. Did you have a hand in creating the business from the start? If so, this should be easier for you to document equal interests and rights. Regardless, there is a paper trail that goes with a business.
 
Don’t assume anything.
 
You may believe the company was a corporation, for example. Check with the Oregon Secretary of State. http://www.filinginoregon.com/. Sometimes, people with less than honest ideas toward their partners may also have set up other business structures or business identities and multiple bank accounts…so be sure to check your partner(s) other possible names for a business, too. http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web _name_srch_inq.login.You can even run their addresses through the system here: http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_ br_web_assoc_name_srch.main.
 
What About A Crime?
 
Based on what you said, there does seem to be a crime, in addition to both a tort (fraud) and/or civil complaint (breach of contract).
 
Depending on what city and county you were in, and when the offenses occurred, there will be the opportunity to involve the police and their economic crimes unit. This is often a very cost-effective way to get a more thorough investigation done. It can also shock the offenders into coming to terms very quickly when they get a dose of this harsh reality. While police may hang back, perhaps believing it’s just a “relationship” issue, the auto title transfer alone suggests something much deeper than just that. This seriousness is especially true if your business relationship continued after any personal relationship ended.
 
“Bona Fide” Purchaser Rules In Oregon
 
Finally, an “innocent” purchaser of a car has some protections from the crime of a false title transfer. If, however, you can show the purchaser had reason to know of your interest in the car, then you can go to court and ask for either a return of the vehicle or the lost value from the purchaser. Most likely your complaint is only against your Ex fiancée. Depending on the value of your total claims (is it under $10,000?), you may have the advantage of using the informal Oregon small claims court system: http://courts.oregon.gov/Washington/ docs/civil/SmallClaims-ProceduresandInstructions.pdf.

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DakotaLegal's picture

 

Submitted by DakotaLegal on

 
Though you placed a written marker down about “my question starts here,” I’m making another assumption. The way your Ex decided to hide your ownership in the car is obviously similar to a potential claim of how he handled (or hid) your assets from the business you operated together. The reason to tie these factors together is that you have a stronger case to demand a full accounting about lost property by demanding a complete inventory. This right to an accounting, by the way, is a common right among “partners.” The minute you start excluding items from that accounting, the more likely you are to blur the lines between gifts, romantic relations, and business agreements.
 
So resist any temptation to segment his conduct, because you will get closer to what you are owed, by not compromising at the beginning. And you can also consider keeping the peace by offering to use a mediator to help settle this whole thing in a less confrontational yet still legal way… http://www.omediate.org/pg20.cfm.
 
Define Your Status
 
The law has several different types of protections, and they depend on what relationship status you have with someone. There is a criminal element in this case too, from the possibility of a fraudulent auto title transfer and then on to what happened to you as a co-worker, part owner, or employee. Depending on your financial situation, you can get free or low-cost legal advice on what these tangled legal relationships are. Plus, having an affordable lawyer right away can also send a strong signal to your ex-partners to get honest. Try here… http://www.law help.org/program/694/index.cfm.
 
What Evidence Do You Have?
 
Start by looking at how the business was created, set up, and operated. Did you have a hand in creating the business from the start? If so, this should be easier for you to document equal interests and rights. Regardless, there is a paper trail that goes with a business.
 
Don’t assume anything.
 
You may believe the company was a corporation, for example. Check with the Oregon Secretary of State. http://www.filinginoregon.com/. Sometimes, people with less than honest ideas toward their partners may also have set up other business structures or business identities and multiple bank accounts…so be sure to check your partner(s) other possible names for a business, too. http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web _name_srch_inq.login.You can even run their addresses through the system here: http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_ br_web_assoc_name_srch.main.
 
What About A Crime?
 
Based on what you said, there does seem to be a crime, in addition to both a tort (fraud) and/or civil complaint (breach of contract).
 
Depending on what city and county you were in, and when the offenses occurred, there will be the opportunity to involve the police and their economic crimes unit. This is often a very cost-effective way to get a more thorough investigation done. It can also shock the offenders into coming to terms very quickly when they get a dose of this harsh reality. While police may hang back, perhaps believing it’s just a “relationship” issue, the auto title transfer alone suggests something much deeper than just that. This seriousness is especially true if your business relationship continued after any personal relationship ended.
 
“Bona Fide” Purchaser Rules In Oregon
 
Finally, an “innocent” purchaser of a car has some protections from the crime of a false title transfer. If, however, you can show the purchaser had reason to know of your interest in the car, then you can go to court and ask for either a return of the vehicle or the lost value from the purchaser. Most likely your complaint is only against your Ex fiancée. Depending on the value of your total claims (is it under $10,000?), you may have the advantage of using the informal Oregon small claims court system: http://courts.oregon.gov/Washington/ docs/civil/SmallClaims-ProceduresandInstructions.pdf.