Williams v. Ford Motor Credit Company

674 F.2d 717 (1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In July 1975, David, husband of P, purchased a Ford Mustang. David executed the sales contract, security agreement, and loan papers, but title to the car was in the name of both David and P. The car was financed through the Ford dealer, who in turn assigned the paper to D. David and P were divorced in 1977. P was granted title to the automobile, and David was required to continue to make payments to D for eighteen months. David defaulted on the payments and signed a voluntary repossession authorization. P responded and said that she was trying to get David to make the payments. There is no evidence of any agreement between P and D. The car was repossessed at around 4 a.m. in the morning. P went outside and hollered at the men, and she was informed that they were repossessing the vehicle on behalf of D. P informed them the car contained personal items which did not even belong to her. The men retrieved the items from the car and handed them to P. They then drove off with the car in tow. P reported the car stolen and sued for conversion. P testified that the men were polite throughout their encounter and did not make any threats toward her or do anything which caused her to fear any physical harm. The automobile had been parked in an unenclosed driveway which P shared with a neighbor. The neighbor was awakened by the wrecker backing into the driveway but did not come out. P was awarded $5,000.00 in damages. D moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Eventually, the district court entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict for D, and this appeal followed.