Title vs. Physical Possession of a Vehicle

(2002 Ford Excursion image public domain)

I’ve talked about non-person entities (NPEs) before, but usually about a computer, or a file (such as a top secret file).

What about sport utility vehicles (SUVs)? 

Or houses?

But I’m going to concentrate on sport utility vehicles here.

Because of their expense, certain NPEs such as vehicles and real estate are associated with title, or proof of ownership. 

Just because I have physical possession of a car or house doesn’t mean that I’m the lawful owner. Maybe I am house sitting. Or renting a car. Or I am a squatter or thief. When it comes to legal (and financial) title, possession is NOT 9/10ths of the law. Otherwise, Hilton and Hertz would be out of business.

But what happens when the physical NPE and the title diverge? Two victims of now-convicted car salesman Ronald Johnson found out the hard way, according to KTTN:

“In 2022, Johnson orchestrated a scheme that led to a Pennsylvania buyer paying $41,750 for a 2002 Ford Excursion that he had already sold to a South Dakota buyer for $45,000. The South Dakota buyer received the title, while the Pennsylvania buyer was given the SUV, leaving the latter unable to register the vehicle lawfully.”

But how do you verify that the title is real? For vehicles:

“The title should have a watermark, a raised seal, a unique vehicle identification number, a unique title number, and the owner’s information.”

And as for the owner, my regular readers know how to verify THAT.