A writ of replevin was available only for an unlawful taking in the nature of a wrongful distress, where restitution could be made for the goods wrongfully taken (being in the nature of a redelivery of the pledge or the thing taken in distress) with damages for the loss sustained by such action.
(1) Where goods, chattels, deeds, bonds, debentures, promissory notes, bills of exchange, books of account, papers, writings, valuable securities or other personal property have been wrongfully distrained, the person complaining the distress is unlawful may bring an action of replevin; or where they have been otherwise ...
Procedure for Obtaining, in Court, a Writ of Replevin The filing of a complaint begins a replevin action. As in other civil actions, the defendant is brought into Court by the service of the summons and the complaint. If the plaintiff establishes the cause of action, the Court must enter an Order granting possession.
To initiate the replevin action, creditors must attach proof of a bill of sale, property title, debt agreement, etc. to a complaint filed with the clerk of court. This filing will include a replevin summons, as well as filing the original documents with the court as well.
Creditors use replevin actions to recover collateral when debtors default on secured loans. For example, a bank might file a replevin action against a borrower to repossess the borrower's car after he missed too many payments.
A consumer who defaults on a vehicle loan usually faces the repossession of the vehicle, but sometimes a lender will use replevin as an alternative. While repossession does not involve a formal process in court, replevin consists of getting the court to order the consumer to return the vehicle to the lender.
You will not go to jail. You have 21 days to respond to the complaint. However, the 21 days on the clock do not start to run until you are actually served with the summons by the process server.
What Happens If the Repo Agent Doesn't Find Your Car? But if you make it hard for the repo agent to get it, then the creditor may use another method to get the car back, called "replevin." Replevin can be just as costly as a repossession, if not more so.
You may also mail your request to PO Box 569, San Bernardino, CA 92402, attention Records Division. With your written request, please include a copy of your valid photo ID, date and location of incident, along with report number if available.
So how long will a repo man look for a car? The answer is simple — until they find it. Therefore, rather than hiding your car, it's probably a better idea to look for different solutions to stopping repossession. If you want to keep your car and are in financial trouble, talk to a bankruptcy attorney.