Family Law

Arkansas Court of Appeals Splits on ?New? Car Definition

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Arkansas law says a “new” car is one that has not had its title transferred.  A.C.A. 23-112-103(22)  Does that include a new car that is stolen off the car lot, driven 40 miles by the thief and then left on the side of the road?  A jury said that was no longer a “new” car despite what the Arkansas law may say.  The Arkansas Court of Appeals, barely, agreed.

You could have some fun hypotheticals with this one.  If the thief had driven it 100 miles would it still be new under the law?  What about 10,000 miles?  Ok, what if a salesperson drives it for say 5,000 miles?  Under the law as written it would still be “new” wouldn’t it?  Would a consumer feel they were getting a “new” car in that situation?  At some point it seems that the statutory definition leaves a lot to be desired.

This majority opinion and dissents are worth reading, especially if you are interested in consumer protection issues and auto fraud cases….here’s the link

http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/2007b/20071219/ca07-183.pdf

Full post as published by Kevin Hickey Law Blog on December 19, 2007 (boomark / email).