Q: Can a bank lawfully withhold the title of my car.if the chapter 13 was dismissed..and the bank wrote the loan off
A:
Yes. Until the underlying debt is fully paid, the bank can retain the title.
When a bankruptcy case is dismissed, all debt obligations are treated as if the bankruptcy never happened.
In addition, the grant of a discharge in a bankruptcy case (you didn't get that far) doesn't discharge a perfected lien against any of the debtor's property (to discharge a perfected lien in bankruptcy, it must be a junior lien, and there must not be even one dollar of equity value in the property to which the junior lien can attach).
A 'write-off" of a debt by a creditor is just an internal accounting function. It does not alter any outstanding legal obligation to repay.
Lloyd Nolan agrees with this answer
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