Property Trade

[pugz2912]

I am in the midst of a property dispute and would really appreciate any advice on resolving the issue.

I aquired a Jeep for a brief period of time before realizing it wasn't what I wanted. Since I was interested in obtaining a motorcycle of comparable value, I decided to attempt a trade.

I only had the Jeep for a few weeks and had not titled it into my name before deciding to trade, thinking it wouldn't be problematic since I was still in contact with the original owner in case any difficulties arose.

A gentleman contacted me about trading my Jeep for a 1990 Harley Davidson Sportster. We met on on Sept. 23rd, inspected the vehicles (he made comments about how he would need to spend a lot of money to get the Jeep up to his standards, but still wanted it), and agreed to each other's terms.

The gentleman printed off an agreement that he and I both signed stating the trade was an "as is" transaction, the only stipulation that the deal would be null and void if there were an issue with titling the jeep. I, unfortunately, was not given a copy of this agreement.

Immedietly, problems arose with the other party. He called that night in regards to the title. I called the original owner and it was resolved.

After that it became an everyday occurance for him to call or email with complaints he expected me to fix for him. Everything from passing inspection in his county (there was already a valid inspection on it for mine) to expecting me to drive an hour to his home to fix a brake light on the Jeep.

All requests have been accompanied by vague threats of legal action and "well, I guess we'll just trade back" comments since he had another party interested.. which at this point sounds rather appealing to me as well.

Meanwhile, the bike has a clutch that needs to be replaced and the starter has gone out after less than a week.. so it doesn't even run. When asked about the problematic clutch, his responce was "if you don't get on it real hard, it won't do it."

The problems with the bike are not the issue.. you take these sort of risks with an "as is" transaction. I realize this... he does not.

His replies have been peppered with psuedo threats. When I explained to him that the issues he was having with the bike had to do with inspection and not titling per our agreement, I was told "You want to play hardball? My wife is a lawyer."

Even before things were getting ugly there was obviously going to be a problem. During one email, I had made a comment about working on the bike and he informed me not to put any money into it because he might be coming to get it and cancel the trade. (Yet now he is complaining about putting $128 dollars into the Jeep to fix a door handle and lights.)


Now, at this point, I offered to trade back as he has repeatedly stated he wanted to do... and suddenly he has emailed that I will be hearing from his associates and will not respond.

I am truly at a loss at this point. It has been only a week, and there seems to be no pleasing the other party and I am afraid I will end up losing both vehicles. I have limited resources and the other party is rather wealthy so I'd like to avoid any costly legal actions, I just need to know my options and what to expect.

Based on what you say here, you could file suit against him (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to his behavior...

[mrs borja]

You need to know that even if you "win" in small claims court they don't HAVE TO pay you. You will put a bunch of money into filing, etc, but even if you win there is no real way to collect what you have "won". I know this because it happened to me, suing a BUSINESS in the state of Oklahoma.

[able1]

See too http://www.worldlawdirect.com/article/935 -- Collecting on a court judgment.