An Ohio woman, whose car was repossessed by the dealership just one month after she purchased it, has pulled off a revenge move to remember.
Tiah McCreary discovered, while investigating legal options against the company, that the dealer had failed to renew the company’s registration with the Ohio Secretary of State, so she registered it in her name—then served the dealer with a cease-and-desist order, ordering them to stop using the name they’d been using since 2012.
As one might expect, a legal battle is underway.
To clarify, according to court documents, McCreary received preliminary loan approval when he purchased a used Kia K5 from Taylor Kia of Lima. The lender later determined that the information provided about McCreary’s income was insufficient for final approval, and the vehicle was repossessed while she was at work.
When she responded in court, demanding that the owner stop using the name, the dealer claimed that an arbitration clause in her agreement to purchase the K5 rendered the court case invalid. The judge agreed.
That could have been it, but the Third District appeals court ruled that, while McCreary signed the arbitration agreement, which applied to the repossession, the claim over the use of the name “Taylor Kia of Lima” was not subject to arbitration because it had nothing to do with the Kia purchase.
The court reversed the previous decision, stating that “this claim is a separate matter that could be pursued independently of the other claims in the complaint that address the consumer transaction at issue.” Because this claim does not fall under the scope of the arbitration agreement, it should not have been dismissed and sent to arbitration.”
The case is now being sent back to lower courts for further legal proceedings.
