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Lawyer recommendations

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Chilidog
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Lawyer recommendations

#1

Post by Chilidog »

My sister-in-law has the need of a lawyer in the Chicago area.

Last June, she sold a car to a dealership.
This week she got a notice that the car was imponded in November under a DUI infraction, and the city was looking to recover significant fees and fines because the vehicle was still registered under her name.

She trusted the dealership to take care of all the title and registration transfer paperwork, and 5 months later it had not been done?

Sigh.

Any recommendations?
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John Thomas8
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Lawyer recommendations

#2

Post by John Thomas8 »

The last two sets of lawyers I've hired have provided Lin Wood-level service.

Kinda sucks.

But I'm out $3,500 for no useful result, so I got that going for me.
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much ado
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#3

Post by much ado »

Well, IANAL of course. I found this brochure from the IL SoS on buying and selling vehicles in IL.

https://www.ilsos.gov/publications/pdf_ ... dop141.pdf

At the top, it says
For more information on buying or selling a used
vehicle, please call the Secretary of State Vehicle
Services Department at 800-252-8980 or 217-
785-3000.

If you have problems with a title or registration on
a vehicle you purchased or suspect improper
activity by someone trying to sell you a vehicle,
please contact the Secretary of State Police in your
area.
So the first thing I would do is to contact the Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department at 800-252-8980 and explain the situation. See what they advise.

Maybe she has already done this, and they said she needed a lawyer?

I hope she has some documentation for the transaction...
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bill_g
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#4

Post by bill_g »

Over ten years ago, a similar thing happened with a car we donated to a charity. They gave it to a family without transferring the title. We got the photo radar speeding ticket. Thankfully we had a receipt showing when we donated the vehicle. No lawyer necessary. YMMV.
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#5

Post by Annrc »

Ditto. Just a month ago we received a notice regarding a car we sold last year. It had a photo of a young woman talking on her phone and speeding in a school zone. We first called the person we sold it to, then the DMV. We had to have the vin # for reference. We also returned the notification with the pertinent info written on it to the State Department who issued the warning notice. The matter seems to be cleared up as we have not heard from them since. Also, we were informed by the dmv that the car has since been properly registered. No lawyers or cost involved.
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raison de arizona
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#6

Post by raison de arizona »

I sold a car once and filed the appropriate paperwork notifying the DMV. A few months later I got a photo radar ticket in the mail with the picture of the gentleman who I sold the car to driving. I hassled around with various agencies, but eventually had to go to court to get the ticket dismissed. The DMV was so far behind on paperwork, it hadn't gotten transferred yet. My only semi-mistake was not taking a copy of the paperwork before submitting it, because when the judge asked me who was driving, all I could say was, "The guy I sold the car to, ask the DMV what his name is!"

Anyway, hope the situation can get resolved without having to pour a bunch of money into it.
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noblepa
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#7

Post by noblepa »

A long time ago, I sold a car before moving from Cleveland to San Diego. The buyer gave me a sob story about not having license plates, so, stupidly, I let him drive the car home with my plates (in Ohio, the plates stay with the owner, not the car). He was supposed to return them the next day but never did.

Six months later, while living in San Diego, I get a letter from the City of Cleveland Parking Enforcement office, saying that there were several outstanding tickets on the car and that I should send them a check.

I called the Ohio State Highway Patrol and reported the license plates stolen. He didn't steal the car because he paid me for it, but he did steal the plates by not returning them, and by continuing to drive with them.

The guy had never transferred the title or registration. I never heard what happened. I hope he got arrested for having stolen plates.

I've always been annoyed that there is no way to "push" the title change. IOW, I can't call the Ohio BMV and report that I have sold the car. The car remains in my name until the buyer transfers it. That's how these things happen.

A few years ago, I sold a car to a co-worker. We worked in downtown Cleveland, so we walked a few blocks to the title bureau office. I signed the title. He handed me a check. He then paid the fee and was issued a title in his name, on the spot. That only works if you live/work close to a title bureau office.
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Chilidog
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#8

Post by Chilidog »

Thanks.

I'm slowly getting to the bottom of this. There were fuck ups all around.
Reddog
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#9

Post by Reddog »

noblepa wrote: Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:15 pm A long time ago, I sold a car before moving from Cleveland to San Diego. The buyer gave me a sob story about not having license plates, so, stupidly, I let him drive the car home with my plates (in Ohio, the plates stay with the owner, not the car). He was supposed to return them the next day but never did.

Six months later, while living in San Diego, I get a letter from the City of Cleveland Parking Enforcement office, saying that there were several outstanding tickets on the car and that I should send them a check.

I called the Ohio State Highway Patrol and reported the license plates stolen. He didn't steal the car because he paid me for it, but he did steal the plates by not returning them, and by continuing to drive with them.

The guy had never transferred the title or registration. I never heard what happened. I hope he got arrested for having stolen plates.
:snippity:
I didn’t see this from January. Almost same thing happened to me a couple years ago. Main difference was that I kept the plates. Parking tickets were from VIN. I was still listed as the owner. I had sold vehicle a couple of years before.

The purchaser lived in neighboring state. I called the county courthouse and told them that the purchaser hadn’t been paying personal property taxes. Apparently the sheriff showed up shortly after and told them they needed to title vehicle. Then assign title to the person they sold the vehicle to.
Luckily I had a bill of sale.
I’m curious about the other people with speed cam violations. Speed cams couldn’t see VIN numbers, they must’ve had their license plates.

Stolen plates are a totally different thing. I had a set stolen, my daughter has also. That’s a big inconvenience. Time taken to get new ones, plus cost. I started using more secure fasteners. I don’t like the security torx 6 point. A set at Harbor Fright runs about $10. The tools for them are too easy to get. Right now I have 5 lobe security Torx. Thieves aren’t likely to have tools for that.
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neonzx
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#10

Post by neonzx »

This goes back probably seven years or so-- maybe a few more. I had an older Pontiac that was pretty much on its last leg. I sold it to a friendly who dealt cars as a dealer on the side. Licensed and everything.

So I sell it to him and I don't take the tag (plate) cause he is a professional and all. About two months later I get a violation notice from the state DMV of my former car zooming through a red-light camera at night. I call up my bud and he says he will handle. Another month later comes another violation (I thought it was the same because it was the same intersection) -- nope, separate incident.

It all was handed eventually and I was not out of pocket.

Lesson learned. If you sell a vehicle, keep the tags/plates.
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#11

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

colleenreyes wrote: Wed May 31, 2023 10:02 am That's a frustrating situation for your sister-in-law. Dealing with the aftermath of a car sale gone wrong can be a hassle. When it comes to finding a lawyer in the Chicago area, it's important to find someone experienced in dealing with car-related legal issues.
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#12

Post by Foggy »

 ! Message from: Foggy
I just want to note, for the record, that we had two people posting links to the same, hyper-aggressive law firm in North Carolina, which I am going to remove. And coleenreyes talked about a law firm in Chicago, but linked to a North Carolina firm.

Both Hoffymawn and coleenreyes used email addresses that are one-time, disposable addresses in order to register here. It appears that both of them are paid spammers, only here to get free advertising for their NC law firm.

This isn't an advertising site for some law firm or any other business. If you're going to recommend a firm based on the original post, it might be useful to recommend a firm that really is in the Chicago area. Anything else is likely to be zotted.
Edit: Hoffymawn had 6 posts, every one with a link to some asscrab website. He's all gone, and so are his posts.
Out from under. :thumbsup:
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pipistrelle
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#13

Post by pipistrelle »

The blindingly obvious was my clue.
When it comes to finding a lawyer in the Chicago area, it's important to find someone experienced in dealing with car-related legal issues.
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Maybenaut
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#14

Post by Maybenaut »

Foggy wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 8:50 am I just want to note, for the record, that we had two people posting links to the same, hyper-aggressive law firm in North Carolina, which I am going to remove. And coleenreyes talked about a law firm in Chicago, but linked to a North Carolina firm.

Both Hoffymawn and coleenreyes used email addresses that are one-time, disposable addresses in order to register here. It appears that both of them are paid spammers, only here to get free advertising for their NC law firm.

This isn't an advertising site for some law firm or any other business. If you're going to recommend a firm based on the original post, it might be useful to recommend a firm that really is in the Chicago area. Anything else is likely to be zotted.
Edit: Hoffymawn had 6 posts, every one with a link to some asscrab website. He's all gone, and so are his posts.
I’m sure that violates some North Carolina ethics rule :think:
"Hey! We left this England place because it was bogus, and if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too!" -- Thomas Jefferson
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