Bought car pre-marriage ex sold from under me

  • Thread Starter transplantedtex
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transplantedtex

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Jurisdiction
Iowa
When I was dating my ex-husband in 2013, I bought a SmartCar from him on payments. Put in $10,127 that I can prove. Without my knowledge he sold it to a realty company for $10,000 then pocketed the cash. Since it was premarital the judge wouldn't discuss in divorce court. How do I legally pursue this? I would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide.
 
Well handling things premarital is different than advising you what you should do about it.
Your attorney can at least point you in the right direction.

The car was sold during the marriage?
 
So my guess is that the title to the vehicle was never transferred into your name with the DMV? If the car was still titled in his name then he had all legal rights to sell the car and pocket the cash. Did you have a bill of sale or anything in writing that shows he sold you the car? Absent any other paperwork such as a bill of sale, showing that you made payments to him doesn't prove anything. He could claim that he was renting the car to you or you were just being a nice person and gifting him with money.
 
I both wrote him checks for what he already had in the car but I also wrote checks to the bank with the loan number in the subject line of the check. I have a copy of the payment book and the last payment notification. Am I just out of luck?
 
By the way it was not put in my name as it wasn't paid off. Was still in my ex's name. He sold it prior to making the last payment because the bank had screwed up and sent him the title early. I wasn't aware of that until after the fact.
 
You are most likely just out of luck. Feel free to consult with an attorney just in case there is something more than what I can tell, but don't get your hopes up. You will probably have to chalk this up to experience and consider your payments rent. Again, proving that you made payments to his bank on his account, doesn't prove that he sold you the car. Maybe he didn't have a checking account so he gave you cash and you mailed the checks. There are any number of such tales that he could tell and there is no way to prove otherwise.
 
I agree that you're most likely out of luck.

The upper limit on small claims in Iowa is $5000. You could try a small claims case with that limit in mind and if you lose you'll only be out the relatively small fees associated with the action. If you win you'll still be over $5k short but at least it's something and you'll avoid some hefty attorney's fees.

You may want to at least consult with an attorney to find out what your chances are and what it would cost for a lawsuit for the full amount.
 
I think you are right. I do have the Deposition paperwork where the attorney asked him about my request to him to buy the Smart Car from him. He stated I may have made a few payments but the money he got from the sale was 'probably' used for furniture or something.
 

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