Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: liability of private party selling a used car

You have the problem that an idiot has filed a lawsuit against you and you have to face the complications of a lawsuit. Number one thing to do: Go to the court and get a form called "Answer" or "General Denial" or something like that. It's a one page form. Deny everything or whatever you want to deny. A "General Denial" allows you to just say you deny everything. But you want to write out some words there somewhere: "This is a frivolous lawsuit and I am entitled to damages for having to defend against a frivolous lawsuit." Get that on the answer in case this thing goes anywhere which I doubt. The reason I am pounding you on this is that you have a thirty day time limit in which to file your answer and you must get it in or lose the case on a default which you will not be able to overturn because it is complicated. So, to reiterate, IMMEDIATELY file some kind of answer (get a form at the court) and then you can think. By the way if you do not have the money to file the answer (approximately $200.00) you can file an application for a fee waiver. But again, this takes TIME. Get on it. Get your answer filed and then you can think.

Re: liability of private party selling a used car

When you sold your privately owned used car did you prepare a long printed list of warranties having both large bold print and small print with colors and lots of gold seals? If you did then you may have some liability. I would venture a guess you did not go the the time or expense to provide written warranties so exposure is very limited.

Re: liability of private party selling a used car

Thanks for your posting. The legal answer to your question of "am I liable", is generally, no. The law is fairly clear that the buyer of a used car takes the car "as is".

There are some exceptions, and if the buyer had something in writing signed by you stating that the air conditioning was guaranteed to work and that was a crucial part of the sale, that might make a difference. Considering the facts of your particular situation, I don't believe you have liability. Good luck, and if you have any other questions, please email me. I'm happy to help in any way that I can.

Re: liability of private party selling a used car

I dont think so