Can someone sue me for a car if I hold the title in my name only?
My sister paid off my car from her bank account. She owed me money, and nothing was ever put in writing, or agreed to verbaly. Now she is suing me for the car. Does she have a case?
Answer:
It depends. The thing about law suits is that anyone can sue about anybody at anytime. The real question is whether the odds are that they can prevail. Here there are a lot of missing facts. If you can prove your sister owed you money, and the amount paid was that amount or less, then you would probably prevail. On the other hand, if you cannot prove that you gave your sister a loan or otherwise gave her value, then her payments may be recoverable if she can prove they were intended only as a loan and not a gift.
The second issue is the issue of her "suing you for the car." One sues on a legal claim such as contract, negligence, etc. If she were to obtain a judgment it is unlikely that the court would order the car turned over as part of the judgment, unless say she had the car loan from the bank and she paid it off. Otherwise, she would receive a money judgment and then she could collect by seizing the car.
So, you see, writing down the deal when its made, and everyone is still speaking to each other, is the real answer. Do not deal with things of value without writing down the deal.
Good luck, jim
