Maple Shade, NJ asked in Small Claims for New Jersey

Q: Do I have a case against my ex?

I bought a car off of my ex while we were together. Unfortunately, I never got a written contract or payment receipts. I only have text messages of him saying he will sign the car over to me soon, me asking when he'd sign the car over to me soon, and practically begging for him to sign the car over to me soon, and him only either ignoring me or aggressively saying that he'd give me the car when he can. He told me that the car needed to still be fixed and before I found out that we were broken up, I gave him the money to buy parts and fix the car. I told him that if that's why I needed to wait before getting the car, that it was ok, he didn't need to continue fixing the car, that I would get someone else to fix the car for me. But no response whatsoever. Its been a week now, and no response about the car. Do I have a case of taking my ex to court to get my 3k back for the car with just text messages?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Noel Rivers
Noel Rivers
Answered
  • Hackensack, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: If you have text messages showing that you paid him for the car and requesting that he give you the car, I would recommend filing an action in small claims court seeking your money back. The text messages will help you prove that you and your ex had entered an oral contract whereby you offered him money for his car, he accepted, and you gave him the money. You fulfilled your promise under the contract by giving him the money. He breached the oral contract by failing to give you the car. Therefore you have a claim against him that can be filed in court.

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