Is this considered theft

[mzgirlygirl]

My boyfriend's step-brother's motorcycle was reposessed due to defaulting on a loan. Since he was in major financial trouble, my boyfriend paid the loan off, with the verbal agreement that he purchased the motorcycle. He sent a cashiers check to the Loan person, who cashed it and is in the process of getting the lein off the bike. In the meantime, the step-brother, who now has posession of the bike, moved out of state and has had ZERO contact and can not be found. The loan guy said he would testify that my boyfriend in fact paid for the bike but title is still in the step-brothers name.

Is this theft and do we have any recourse.

 

[Duranie]

It's not theft because the bike is in the step-brothers name. Your boyfriend is probably going to have to sue the step brother for the money, in small claims court. Unless a bill of sale was done, it is probably going to be hard to prove your boyfriend bought the bike, but he should be able to sue his step-brother.

 

[seniorjudge]

...Since he was in major financial trouble, my boyfriend paid the loan off, with the verbal agreement that he purchased the motorcycle....

There is no such thing as a verbal agreement in cases such as this.

 

[mzgirlygirl]

There is no such thing as a verbal agreement in cases such as this.

I called the DMV and they said that since the Title is in the step-brothers name, obviously it can not be considered stolen. Would a small claims suit be the next step. Does a verbal agreement hold any weight there? The lienholder and repo guy will testify that the bike was being bought. Or are we out $14,500?