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The car does not automatically become the lender's property instantly. The owner still has the statutory right of redemption (which means paying in full all amounts owed -- at minimum paying all past due payments, late charges, etc., within a certain period of time -- which is not long; we're talking days). There is the issue of wrongful "self-help" repossession. This is where the lender just sends the repo man out to pick up the car, without the benefit of a judgment and/or an officer of the law accompanying the tow truck. In such instances, the repo man cannot "breach the peace." This means, e.g., that if the owner is present and tells the repo man to get the hell off his property or there's gonna be hell to pay, the repo guy better get off or there IS a breach of the peace. In addition, the repo guy cannot pick up the car if he has to go beyond the "front line of the house." He cannot take the car out of the back yard, or the garage. If there was personal property in the car (and who doesn't have junk in their car??), the lender has to make that property immediately available for pickup. If the lender fails to do so, that is conversion (a tort).
There are all sorts of intricacies to this. If your friend can redeem the car, he/she should do so, and file an insurance claim for any damage done by the repo man. The insurer can pursue any subrogation claim for the damages.
Bake, Esq.
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