Other Criminal Charges & Offenses Car Left To Be Stolen

[adjusterjack]

INTENDED sale. The OP didn't mention anything about complying with the UCC statute of frauds.

Why would he have?

There is nothing in the Ohio UCC Statute of Frauds that applies to this private party sale of a vehicle.

See 1335.05:

Chapter 1335 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

If you're saying that this sale of this vehicle had to be in writing to be enforceable, I think you are wrong.

Title 13 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

 

[adjusterjack]

I cast my line and reeled in a fish.
I didn't say it, but it's a safe bet that I was fishing...

Agree.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

If you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras.

 

[Zigner]

Why would he have?

I *think* that other-Z is trying to say that we don't have evidence of a contract because the OP didn't explicitly mention all of the elements that would be required in order to form a contract. I (and you) feel that the implications by the OP were strong enough to make it a safe bet to assume there was a contract in place for the sale of the vehicle.

 

[zddoodah]

Why would he have?

There is nothing in the Ohio UCC Statute of Frauds that applies to this private party sale of a vehicle.

Oh, really? How about: "Except as otherwise provided in this section a contract for the sale of goods for the price of five hundred dollars or more is not enforceable by way of action or defense unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between the parties and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought or by his authorized agent or broker." Ohio Rev. Code section 1302.04(A)?

See 1335.05:

Chapter 1335 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

If you're saying that this sale of this vehicle had to be in writing to be enforceable, I think you are wrong.

Chapter 1335 is not part of the UCC as codified in Ohio. The UCC is codified in Chapters 1301-1309.

 

[Zigner]

Oh, really? How about: "Except as otherwise provided in this section a contract for the sale of goods for the price of five hundred dollars or more is not enforceable by way of action or defense unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between the parties and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought or by his authorized agent or broker." Ohio Rev. Code section 1302.04(A)?

Careful - 1302.64 comes into play as well:


1302.04(C): A contract which does not satisfy the requirements of division (A) of this section but which is valid in other respects is enforceable:
.
.
.
(3) with respect to goods for which payment has been made and accepted or which have been received and accepted in accordance with section 1302.64 of the Revised Code.

and

1302.64(A): Acceptance of goods occurs when the buyer:
.
.
.
(2) fails to make an effective rejection as provided in division (A) of section 1302.61 of the Revised Code, but such acceptance does not occur until the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect them; ...

 

[leslie82]

I had a friend who was interested in buying my car, I gave him the key and left the registration in the car but took the tags. I knew the guy and trusted him to pay me. After 3 months, he still hadn't paid me so I told him I was coming to pick it up. He told me that he was going to park the car on the street leave the keys in the car so it would get stolen. He lives an hour away, I checked the apartment he lives in and the car is gone. He won't answer his door or the phone.

I talked to the cops and they said that since I left the car with him, there was not much they could do. Can anyone give me some advice on what I can do? Thanks.

Why did you just give him your car keys? You can't trust anyone - that's obvious now.

I feel like they could charge the guy with unauthorized use of a vehicle. My ex husband took my car without permission before and I was told since I know who took it, it wasn't stolen. It was "unauthorized use of a vehicle." I found this in Google: " "unlawful use of a means of transportation."

Found this:


Ohio law also prohibits joyriding—using or operating a motor vehicle without the consent of the owner or driver. Unlike the thief, the joyrider does not intend to keep the vehicle from the owner indefinitely. Ohio's joyriding law—called unauthorized use of a vehicle—would apply to a child who takes a sibling's car, without permission, for a ride to a friend's home and back.

A person who joyrides commits a first-degree misdemeanor and faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The law allows for harsher penalties in the following circumstances:

• the defendant leaves the state with the vehicle
• the defendant possesses the vehicle for more than 48 hours, or
• the victim is part of a protected class, including elderly, disabled, and active duty military or spouses.

Any one of these circumstances elevates the crime to a fifth-degree felony, with penalties of six to 12 months' prison time and a fine of up to $2,500. If the victim is an elderly person or disabled adult and the crime results in a financial loss for the victim, the offender faces up to a second-degree felony, which carries up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The penalty is based on the amount of the financial loss to the victim.

(Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2913.03, 2929.14, 2929.18, 2929.24, 2929.28 (2020).)

 

[leslie82]

That is the situation, the car was worth about $1000-$1500. It was a 2000 Honda Civic in good condition. I knew the guy for 5-6 years and have sold him things before. I trusted him to pay me, but evidently he got involved in drugs.

Was the title in the vehicle or did you transfer the title to him? If he doesn't have the title transferred to him or have the title - then he doesn't own it.

I sold my dad my car and I signed the title over to him - and he did pay me once he got his tax return (I can actually trust my dad and he has never done drugs other than alcohol).

Hard lesson learned.