According to the law, the thing belongs to the buyer if he has acquired it “in good faith”. But sometimes it’s not that simple.
Karlsruhe – Fraudsters are selling a car they don’t even own to an unsuspecting dealer – who is the rightful owner now? This question has been occupying the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) since Friday.
According to the law, the thing belongs to the buyer if he has acquired it “in good faith”. That would not be the case, for example, if someone is so careless as not to show the vehicle registration document when making the purchase. The argument here is exactly whether that happened – statement stands against statement.
As became apparent in the Karlsruhe negotiations, the Mercedes-Benz leasing company, which actually owned the car, will probably lose out. The man who picked up the car from the dealership for the dealer credibly assures him that he was presented with an authentic-looking registration certificate. According to the Senate’s preliminary assessment, the legal situation on this point is to be understood in a buyer-friendly manner and the leasing company would have to prove that this was not the case – even if this is admittedly difficult for someone who was not present at the purchase. The verdict is to be announced on September 23. dpa
