Can a minor own title to a vehicle in Arkansas
Full Question:
Answer:
The answer will depend on the circumstances under which the minor obtained the title. If the minor isn't the true owner of the car, it is possible for the title to be voided. It will also depend on the terms of the agreement made between the father and child regarding the purchase of the truck. If ownership of the truck was contingent on certain conditions being met and those conditions haven't been met, it is possible that the child is in breach of contract. Please see the following AR statute:
27-14-710. Grounds for refusing registration or certificate of title.
The Office of Motor Vehicle shall refuse registration or issuance of a
certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of the
following grounds:
(1) That the application contains any false or fraudulent statement or
that the applicant has failed to furnish required information or
reasonable additional information requested by the office or that the
applicant is not entitled to the issuance of a certificate of title or
registration of the vehicle under this chapter;
(2) That the office has reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle
is a stolen or embezzled vehicle or that the granting of registration or
the issuance of a certificate of title would constitute a fraud against
the rightful owner or other person having valid lien upon such vehicle;
(3) That the registration of the vehicle stands suspended or revoked
for any reason as provided in the motor vehicle laws of this state;
(4) That the required fee has not been paid; or
(5) That the owner of a commercial motor vehicle has had his or her
authority to operate denied or suspended by the United States Department
of Transportation for safety-related violations.
An unjustifiable failure to perform all or some part of a contractual duty is a breach of contract. A legal action for breach of contract arises when at least one party's performance does not live up to the terms of the contract and causes the other party to suffer economic damage or other types of measurable injury. A lawsuit for breach of contract is a civil action and the remedies awarded are designed to place the injured party in the position they would be in if not for the breach. Remedies for contractual breaches are not designed to punish the breaching party. The five basic remedies for breach of contract include the following: money damages, restitution, rescission, reformation, and specific performance. A money damage award includes a sum of money that is given as compensation for financial losses caused by a breach of contract. Parties injured by a breach are entitled to the benefit of the bargain they entered, or the net gain that would have accrued but for the breach. The type of breach governs the extent of damages that may be recovered.
Restitution is a remedy designed to restore the injured party to the position occupied prior to the formation of the contract. Parties seeking restitution may not request to be compensated for lost profits or other earnings caused by a breach. Instead, restitution aims at returning to the plaintiff any money or property given to the defendant under the contract. Plaintiffs typically seek restitution when contracts they have entered are voided by courts due to a defendant's incompetence or incapacity.
Rescission is the name for the remedy that terminates the contractual duties of both parties, while reformation is the name for the remedy that allows courts to change the substance of a contract to correct inequities that were suffered. In order to have a rescission, both parties to the contract must be placed in the position they occupied before the contract was made. Courts have held that a party may rescind a contract for fraud, incapacity, duress, undue influence, material breach in performance of a promise, or mistake, among other grounds.
Specific performance is an equitable remedy that compels one party to perform, as nearly as practicable, his or her duties specified by the contract. Specific performance is available only when money damages are inadequate to compensate the plaintiff for the breach.
Promissory estoppel is a term used in contract law that applies where, although there may not otherwise be an enforceable contract, because one party has relied on the promise of the other, it would be unfair not to enforce the agreement. Promissory estoppel arises from a promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action or forebearance of a definite and substantial character on the part of the promisee and which does induce such action or forebearance in binding if injustice can be avoided only by enforcement of the promise. Detrimental reliance is a term commonly used to force another to perform their obligations under a contract, using the theory of promissory estoppel. Promissory estoppel may apply when a promise was made; reliance on the promise was reasonable or foreseeable; there was actual and reasonable reliance on the promise; the reliance was detrimental; and injustice can only be prevented by enforcing the promise. Detrimental reliance must be shown to involve reliance that is reasonable, which is a determination made on an individual case-by-case basis, taking all factors into consideration. Detrimental means that some type of harm is suffered.
Reasonable reliance is usually referred to as a theory of recovery in contract law. It was what a prudent person might believe and act upon based on something told by another. Sometimes a person acts in reliance on the promise of a profit or other benefit, only to learn that the statements or promises were either incorrect or were exaggerated. The one who acted to their detriment in reasonable reliance may recover damages for the costs of his/her actions or demand performance. Reasonable reliance connotes the use of the standard of an ordinary and average person.
In Arkansas , the law does not say about a minimum age for owning a car. The relevant laws on the topic are:
A.C.A. § 27-16-207 defines Vehicle as follows
"Vehicle" means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is, or may be, transported or drawn upon a public highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
A.C.A. § 27-14-705 speaks of the law regarding application for registration and certificate of title.
(a) (1) Every owner of a vehicle subject to the registration under this chapter shall make application to the Office of Motor Vehicle for the registration thereof and issuance of a certificate of title for such vehicle upon the appropriate forms furnished by the office.
(2) Every application shall bear the signature of the owner, written with pen and ink, unless the person is unable to write, in which case he affixes his mark, "X", which must be witnessed by a person other than the office employee, and the signature shall be acknowledged by the owner before a person authorized to administer oaths.
(b) The application shall contain:
(1) The name, bona fide residence, and mailing address of the owner or business address of the owner if a firm, association, or corporation;
(2) (A) A description of the vehicle, including, insofar as the data specified in this subsection may exist with respect to a given vehicle, the make, model, type of body, the number of cylinders, the serial number of the vehicle, the engine or other number of the vehicle designated to identify vehicles for registration purposes, and whether new or used, and if a new vehicle, a certificate of origin.
(B) (i) The certificate of origin shall be furnished the dealer by the manufacturer and shall accompany the application for license and title.
(ii) No license for the operation of the vehicle shall be granted and no certificate of title shall be issued unless the certificate of origin is made a part of the application.
(C) The certificate of origin shall be on a form to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.
(D) In the event a vehicle is designed, constructed, converted, or rebuilt for the transportation of property, the application shall include a statement of its capacity in terms of maximum gross vehicle weight rating as authorized by the manufacturer of the chassis or the complete vehicle;
(3) A statement of the applicant's title and of all liens or encumbrances upon the vehicle and the names and addresses of all persons having any interest therein and the nature of every such interest and the name and address of the person to whom the certificate of title shall be delivered by the office;
(4) (A) Further information as may reasonably be required by the office to enable it to determine whether the vehicle is lawfully entitled to registration and the owner entitled to a certificate of title.
(B) When such application refers to a new vehicle purchased from a dealer, the application shall be accompanied by a statement by the dealer or a bill of sale showing any lien retained by the dealer and a fee of fifty cents (50cent(s)) in addition to the title.
(C) For the purposes of this section:
(i) The words "new vehicle" shall be defined as any motor vehicle transferred for the first time from a manufacturer or importer, or dealer or agent of a manufacturer or importer, and which motor vehicle had theretofore not been used, and is what is commonly known as a "new motor vehicle"; and
(ii) The words "used vehicle" shall be any motor vehicle which has been sold, bargained, exchanged, given away, or the title transferred from the person who first took ownership from the manufacturer or importer, dealer, or agent of the manufacturer or importer, or so used as to have become what is commonly known as a "secondhand motor vehicle".
(c) In addition to the application referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, a title application fee in the amount of four dollars ($4.00) per motor vehicle is imposed on each title issued, which shall be paid to the office at the time that application for registration thereof is made.
A.C.A. § 27-14-713 speaks about Issuance of registration certificates and certificates of title. It reads as follows:
(a) The Office of Motor Vehicle, upon registering a vehicle, shall issue a registration certificate and a certificate of title. The registration certificate and the certificate of title shall be of a type which, as nearly as possible, prevents the document from being altered, counterfeited, duplicated, or simulated without ready detection.
(b) (1) The registration certificate shall be delivered to the owner and shall contain, upon the face thereof, the date issued, the name and address of the owner, the registration number assigned to the vehicle, and such description of the vehicle as determined by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.
(2) Upon the reverse side it shall contain a form for endorsement of notice to the office upon transfer of the vehicle.
(c) (1) (A) The certificate of title shall contain, upon the face thereof, the identical information required upon the face of the registration certificate.
(B) In addition, it shall contain a statement of the owner's title and of all liens and encumbrances upon the vehicle therein described and whether possession is held by the owner under a lease, contract of conditional sale, or other like agreement.
(2) The certificate shall bear the seal of the office.
(d) (1) The certificate of title shall contain upon the front side a space for the signature of the owner, and the owner shall write his or her name with pen and ink in such space upon receipt of the certificate.
(2) The certificate shall also contain upon the reverse side forms for assignment of title or interest and warranty thereof by the owner, with space for notation of liens and encumbrances upon the vehicle at the time of a transfer.
(e) (1) The certificate of title shall be delivered to the owner in the event no lien or encumbrance appears thereon.
(2) Otherwise, the certificate of title shall be delivered either to the person holding the first lien or encumbrance upon the vehicle as shown in the certificate or to the person named to receive it in the application for such certificate.
Even if a Minor is the owner of the vehicle, he/she cannot drive the vehicle unless the minor has a learner’s license or intermediate driver’s license and other conditions are followed.
A.C.A. § 27-16-804 reads as follows:
(f) (1) The office shall have authority to issue a restricted driver's license, to be known as a "learner's license", to those persons under sixteen (16) years of age.
(2) The learner's license shall be issued only to an applicant with a valid instruction permit who is at least fourteen (14) years of age, who has remained free of a serious accident and conviction of a serious traffic violation in the previous six (6) months, and who meets all other licensing examinations requirements of this chapter.
(3) The driver with a learner's license shall operate the motor vehicle on the public streets and highways only when:
(A) All passengers in the vehicle are wearing their seat belts at all times; and
(B) The driver with a learner's permit is being accompanied by a driver over twenty-one (21) years of age.
(g) (1) The office shall have authority to issue to those persons under eighteen (18) years of age a restricted driver's license to be known as an "intermediate driver's license".
(2) The intermediate driver's license shall be issued only to an applicant with a valid instruction permit or a learner's license who is at least sixteen (16) years of age, who has remained free of a serious accident and conviction of a serious traffic violation for at least the previous six (6) months, and who meets all other licensing examination requirements of this chapter.
(3) The driver with an intermediate driver's license shall operate the motor vehicle on the public streets and highways only when all passengers in the vehicle are wearing their seat belts.
(h) No motor vehicle, nor the operator of a vehicle, nor the passengers of the vehicle shall be stopped, inspected, or detained solely to determine compliance with the requirement set out in this subchapter for wearing a seat belt.
