Timeline for Is it legal to "steal" back one's own stolen car?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
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| Dec 14, 2023 at 7:03 | history | edited | Someone | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
edited body; edited title
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| Dec 14, 2023 at 6:41 | comment | added | Someone | @RonJohn it's a hypothetical; my car wasn't really stolen (I don't even have a car). Although it is unusual to not report a stolen car, I don't think it's illegal. Also, it's possible within the hypothetical that John left his car at home and walked to the grocery store, then saw his car in someone else's driveway while walking back. In that case, seeing it somewhere he didn't put it is his initial discovery of the theft. It's unlikely that the car would be sold so quickly, but it is technically possible. | |
| Dec 14, 2023 at 6:37 | comment | added | RonJohn | Why didn't you report it stolen? Seems to me that you're trying to hide something... | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 14:43 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | @gnasher729: Being in the driveway might make the items slightly less vulnerable to theft, but not to other kinds of damage. Suppose among the items was an elaborate decorated cake. John sets it on the ground, and shortly thereafter, it starts to rain. This destroys the cake, with all its sweet green icing flowing down. Could the cake's owner recover from John, given that it took so long to bake the cake, and they'll never have that recipe again? Leaving a cake out in the rain could be considered negligent. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 11:04 | comment | added | gnasher729 | @NateEldredge, this was supposed to happen in someone's driveway, so I don't think John would be liable. In a parking space somewhere on some road, that would be different. All that said, there are things that are legal, and there are things that are clever. Doing things that make you a strong suspect of being a thief is not a good idea. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 5:15 | vote | accept | Someone | ||
| Jun 30, 2022 at 5:07 | answer | added | Harry McKenzie | timeline score: 9 | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:47 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | I would also wonder about the "setting the belongings on the ground". That's a pretty cavalier way to handle the property of someone who may well be another innocent victim of the thief / fraudster. If anything were to happen to it, would John be liable? | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:43 | comment | added | Someone | @NateEldredge see my comment above. John had left the title in the vehicle. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:42 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | @HarryMcKenzie: We aren't told how the sale happened. For all we know, the thief forged an extremely convincing set of title documents that looked perfectly fine to the buyer. It might be discovered when the buyer goes to register the car, but maybe that hasn't happened yet. The police might check these documents and discover the fraud before putting the car on the "hot list", but I wouldn't want to count on that. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:40 | comment | added | Someone | @HarryMcKenzie a deed of sale is not required in Oregon. You just sign the title and report the sale to the DMV. Of course, the theif couldn't do this either unless he had the title and could fake John's signature. I'm not sure what's involved in reporting a sale, but I don't think the buyer would know if the seller didn't do it. If John kept the title and his driver license in the vehicle (not a good idea but people do it anyway), the theif could feasibly see the signature on the DL and forge one on the title. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:38 | comment | added | Harry McKenzie | @NateEldredge but how could the new owner report it as stolen when he should know that the purchase was illegal because he has no car title and the name on the title doesn't match with the deed of sale's seller's (thief's) name? | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:29 | comment | added | Nate Eldredge | Even if legal, it is certainly stupid, since the good-faith "new owner" is likely to report the car as stolen to the police. John may be able to sort things out in the end, but in the meantime, I hope he enjoys being on the receiving end of felony stops. | |
| Jun 30, 2022 at 4:23 | history | asked | Someone | CC BY-SA 4.0 |