Signing an old Bill of Sale?

After being involved with 3 different title messes this is my best advice for diana and Tom.
Place every thing you got from the new owner in an envelope with aCOPY of the Bill of Sale that you signed when you transfered title to the insurance company, along with a short note telling him you are no longer the owner of the aircraft, nor do you want to be involved with any further dealing in this matter.

You did what was right the first time around, you are out of the loop in this matter, you have no need to get back in.

If at a later date he comes at you with a lawyer, get one too.
 
Ron Levy said:
Diana -- through all this, keep in mind that it ain't your problem! You didn't create it, you aren't suffering for it, and you can't fix it. As Tom pointed out, this person is probably trying to undo what the insurance company did in taking it out of the inventory, and there are big ramifications to that. For all you know, someone lied to him and told him it was no problem, and now he's trying to dig out of a bottomless hole.

Two final points:

1. Make sure that the person who wants this plane flying pays any expenses to which you are put (and that's probably going to be more than $10 by the time it all unwinds).

2. Make sure that whatever happens, you don't tangle up with one of the other parties in the chain of ownership between you and the current possessor of the aircraft remains (insurer, salvage company, and person who bought from the salvage company and sold it to the current "owner"), because short-circuiting them could electrocute you.
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After seeing the FAA records posted here I concur,, just tell the guy "NO". we are no longer the owners. he can't legally do anything to you. Because what he is trying to do is Ilegal, he can scream & hollar, but there is no legal action for him.
 
Ron Levy said:
Concur.
If this serial number is the one Tom and Diana had, then it's not a "totally different aircraft" -- it's the carcass of the plane they reported destroyed and the FAA struck from its records. Notice there's no airworthiness certificate -- probably cancelled/returned to the FAA by the insurance company.

From what I saw in the FAA records the C-208 that Diana and Tom sold the insurance company was exported. But it is a moot point, the FAA can't reconize the aircraft that this guy has as any thing that ever existed before.

So they won't regester it under any circumstances. DTDT its a nasty scene.

'Zactly -- the new owner of the carcass is trying to pull a Frankenstein on it -- bring it back from the dead, which is most likely what the insurance company did not want done. I don't know what all the rules are on this, but I know for sure it's not something in which I would want to be involved.
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Your a smart dude, the rules are : this aircraft has nothing going for it, the serial number is gone (exported) the N number is gone (reassigned) What this guy has is an airctaft built from new and used Cessna parts and repairsections that cessna will never allow to be placed back into the serial number sequence for a new data tag.

What he really has at this time is a homebuilt that looks a lot like a C-208/150 what ever, but trying to gain an EXP certificate will open a whole new can of worms.

His only hope is to buy a clean title and data tag with airworthy certificate, but that brings the FARs about data tag removal and replacement.
 
Ron Levy said:
How would you feel if someone who previously owned your plane filled out that FAA form and reported it as "destroyed" after they sold it to you? I'll stick with my advice to them not to do that unless/until someone with a license to practice law recommends to them otherwise.
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Where did I tell Diana to report it "Destroyed"? The FAA form is intended to be used by owners to report to the FAA that the previous owners released ownership to someone else on xx/yy/zzzz. Nothing more, nothing less. If the previous owner of my Mooney wants to send the FAA a note today stating that Michael sold the plane to me in 1989, more power to him--it's legally correct and it's old news to the FAA.
 
Diana, tell the guy to take a hike. If you want to do it politely but firmly, try something like this:

Via certified mail

Mr. hopeful buyer
Address

Dear Sir:

With regard to your desire to have me sign a bill of sale for airframe # serial number, please be advised as follows:

I sold this aircraft to InsCo on date, and I have a copy of that bill of sale. As far as I can tell in the official records of the FAA, InsCo still owns that aircraft. Therefore, to avoid being accused of selling an airframe twice to two different owners, I will not be involved in any transaction concerning this airframe that InsCo does not request that I undertake.

Further, since my copy of the original Bill of Sale has both my and my husband’s signature on it, and you have a Bill of Sale with only one signature on it, someone in the chain between you and I has apparently doctored the paperwork. We both need to proceed with care at this point. Please address all further correspondence to me through my attorney, NAME, ADDRESS.

I look forward to working with you to help clear up the title to this aircraft, but I will do so only with utmost care and competent legal advice. Also, as I am an innocent party to any aggravation you may experience while clearing the title, I request that you undertake to pay any attorney fees I may incur.
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-Skip
 
Diana said:
Skip, you're right. I like what you wrote. Can I borrow that?
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It is a good letter Diana. But I would change one part of it.

Further, since my copy of the original Bill of Sale has both my and my husband’s signature on it, and you have a Bill of Sale with only one signature on it, someone in the chain between you and I has apparently doctored the paperwork.
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This jumps to a conclusion and perhaps an unfounded accusation. I would word it like this:

"Further, my copy of the original Bill of Sale has both my and my husband’s signature on it. The Bill of Sale in your possession, you claim, only has one signature on it. I am at a loss to explain the discrepancy. There does appear to be a problem that has cropped from somewhere after I sent my paperwork to the insurance company."
 
smigaldi said:
It is a good letter Diana. But I would change one part of it.

This jumps to a conclusion and perhaps an unfounded accusation. I would word it like this:

"Further, my copy of the original Bill of Sale has both my and my husband’s signature on it. The Bill of Sale in your possession, you claim, only has one signature on it. I am at a loss to explain the discrepancy. There does appear to be a problem that has cropped from somewhere after I sent my paperwork to the insurance company."
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Waaaaay too much information in both letters.

I deal with regulators and attorneys too much. As a young scientist I used to love long reports filled with high falutin' verbiage. I've since learned (the hard way) to say no more than is absolutely required to get your message across. Attorneys and authorities are paid by the hour to scrutinize every single solitary word and punctuation mark. That is why 'Miranda' reads "... can and WILL be used against you in a court of law."

Tom D. has it right. Don't get chatty. just provide copies of existing public records (stamped prominently with the word "copy" over key information), say "No, I can't legally do what you request" and STOP.
 
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