Motorhome was lein sold by storage yard...help needed.

[LiveStrong]

I know very little about mechanic leins and leins in general but I just found out that my motorhome was lein sold by the storage yard that I have been keeping it at. I was 4 months behind on the payment but the manager said he would work with me and let me catch-up later. I called today and the owner told me not to worry about paying the bill; that they put a mechanics lein on it and according to him he already has a new title issued in his name. How can this happen? He said that certified mail was sent to me and my finance company to notify us of the filing and since neither one of us protested the lein the DMV issued new ownership rights. I don't recall getting a certified letter and why would my finance company not respond either? I'll be calling the finance company in the morning but I'm worried that I'll get stuck paying a payment (still owe 30k) for a long time for something I don't even have. I had planned to turn it in if I decide to file chapter 7. I don't know what to think of all this. Could a court still discharge the debt even if I don't have the motorhome to turn in? Is their any way out of this?

Thanks in advance!

[JRScott]

Technically they would have to sue in superior court to allow the lien to be satisfied by selling the property. If they used a sewer processing service they could have given the paper to a neighbor put it on your porch etc which is abusive.

However you could run and actually see if a mechanic's lien was filed. Sadly the process of actually filing one in CA requires no actual documentation but has to be filed in the county recorders office. So I'd check there to see when and if one was filed.

Assuming it was filed I'd then check with the clerk of superior court in your county and see if they actually set forth a judgment to fulfill the lien. See what date etc it was done. If it actually occurred you might actually need to get a lawyer's aid in fixing it. You probably would still be liable to the primary lien holder if they received no money in the exchange or if they received less than you owed.

Here's a link to Mechanic's Liens in California:

http://www.construction-laws.com/mechanics%20liens.htm

[Flamingo]

Since you didn't have anything in writing as to your agreement, what it appears the owner did is treat the motor home as maybe abandoned on his property since no one responded to notices sent about situation, if, in fact, notices were sent since you state you never received one. You will need to find out your state laws as to abandoned property and request copies of what was sent to you and when. That person should have copies of all everything sent including the certified numbers of any letters sent which would show the addresses, signatures on the green return card, etc.

Sounds like you need a good talk with a lawyer over this one but without some sort of agreement in hand that you could leave your vehicle there without payment puts you in a bad spot.

[LiveStrong]

So, I talked with two attorneys and like normal got two different suggestions and answers. One says their is nothing I can do regarding the lein sale...he said the storage owner conducted the lein legally and since neither myself or my finance company responded to the registered notices sent their is no recourse. With regard to discharging the debt in chapter 7; he says that since I don't have the vehicle and can't turn it in (secured debt) I will have to continue paying for it. He said their is no way a trustee will discharge a 'secured debt' without turning in the security / collateral.

The other says I probably have legal recourse against the storage owner because I only owe him about $600 and he got a $30,000 motorhome. I guess he's suppose to sell it, take his $600 + fees and give the rest to the original 'owner'. He thinks a trustee would allow a discharge in chapter 7 even if I can't turn in the security as long as I show that I don't have the motorhome.
What gives? Is anything in law black and white?

[lookingforward]

I know nothing about the auto lien part, but I do manage a storage building complex. We do not store autos, but I thought I could shed a little bit of light on the seizing of stored goods part. We are required by law to send a certified letter to the address on file. If there is no response, we then seize whatever is in the storage building and auction it off. If the person owes for example 500.00 and we auction their stuff off for 750.00, we do not have to give the overage to the customer. The law in my state says that you are required to auction the items off to give the original customer a chance to buy their stuff back. There must be several listings in the legals section of the newspaper announcing that the auction will take place.
Can they prove to you that they sent the certified letter? They should have those records and I would demand to see them. There's no way I would take their word for it that they sent the letter. I'm sure you would have signed for it right?