Can I retrieve my property back even if was sold
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Can I retrieve my property back even if was sold
I signed the title of my truck over to a
friend in order to retrieve it from
impound I have proof of our
agreement He took my truck by
wrecker from my yard and sold it to his
co worker Can I get my truck back?
Asked on September 6, 2016 under Business Law, Louisiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You can't get it back from the coworker if 1) the coworker believed (such as based on the title) that your friend owned the truck and therefore could sell it; and 2) the coworker paid, in good faith, something more or less like the fair market value. The law does not let you recover property purchased by innocent third parties in good faith. Only if you can show that the coworker knew that this was not your friend's truck or that your friend did not have authority to sell it would you have a reasonable chance of getting the truck back in lawsuit.
However, you can certainly sue your "friend" for the value of the truck or the amount he was paid for it (whichever is greater) for selling it when he did not have authority to do so, or had agreed to not sell but rather return it to you. Just because the buyer may be an innocent third party or just because you may not be able to get the truck itself back does not mean that your friend is immune from lawsuit.
In the future, *never* give someone title to your property because you invite this sort of thing: once you give someone title, you make it too easy for them to dispose of it.
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