Indiana Consumer Lawyer Blog
PRESS RELEASE
Indiana Consumer Law Group/The Law Office of Robert E. Duff announces the recent filing of a class action lawsuit against Condor Securitization Trust, Condor Holdco Securitization Trust, Condor Assetco Securitization Trust and Condor Recovery Securitization Trust arising out of the repossession of an Indiana couple’s vehicle. The complaint alleges that the Notice of Sale sent to the plaintiffs did not comply with the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in a number of respects. The complaint seeks damages and an injunction to prevent Condor from continuing to violate the law.
The plaintiffs’ finance agreement was immediately assigned to Condor Capital Corporation in April of 2014 when they bought a car from a dealership in Indiana. Condor Capital Corporation, commonly known as a subprime auto lender, was at the time a major financier of subprime auto loan contracts and had acquired a portfolio of over $300 million in outstanding loans. Sometime later in 2014, New York state authorities filed a lawsuit against Condor Capital Corporation alleging that Condor “has engaged in a longstanding scheme to steal millions of dollars from its customers — among other unfair, abusive, and deceptive practices.” Eventually, a receiver was appointed by the court to wind down Condor’s affairs. During the winding down process, the plaintiffs allege that their finance agreement was transferred and assigned to one or more of the defendant trusts named in the lawsuit.
When a car is repossessed, the lienholder must send the debtor a “Notice of Sale” before the car may be sold. Indiana law – like the law in most states – puts strict requirements on the content of the Notice of Sale. For instance, it must state how the car will be sold (public or private sale), give the time and place of a public sale or the time after which a private sale will be made and state that the debtor is entitled to request an accounting and the cost, if any, for the accounting. The Notice of Sale also has to describe the debtor’s liability for a deficiency if the car sells for less than the amount owed. And in addition to these and other requirements, the Notice of Sale must give a telephone number the debtor can call to find out how much must be paid in order to get the car back. It is not uncommon for the Notice of Sale used by a lienholder to fail to properly provide all the required information. If the Notice of Sale is defective, not only is Indiana law violated, but there is a potential class action because the lienholder has violated the law each time the defective Notice of Sale was sent to a debtor.
If your car has been repossessed and you have received a Notice of Sale from the lienholder, we would be happy to review it free of charge to see if it complies with Indiana law. Submit a contact form here and let us know you have a Notice of Sale for review and we’ll send you an e-mail so that you can submit it. If it fails to comply with the law, we might be able to help you without charging you attorney fees.