Opinion ID: 1652969
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether, in a contract for title situation, the seller's failure to deliver title of a mobile home within 15 days of transfer of possession prohibits the seller from enforcing the contract.

Text: The Graens rely on SDCL 32-7A-17 which provides: Any transfer or reassignment of a mobile home or manufactured home title shall be accompanied by an affidavit issued by the county treasurer of the county in which the mobile home or manufactured home is registered, stating that the current year's taxes are paid. No title may be transferred until the taxes under § 10-9-3 are paid. No transfer of title may be completed unless the mobile home or manufactured home is registered as provided in § 10-9-3. In any event the title or manufacturer's statement of origin shall be transferred within fifteen days of delivery of the manufactured home or mobile home. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. (emphasis added). Relying on Hento v. Melmer, 73 S.D. 455, 44 N.W.2d 212 (1950), Graens argue that ALS's failure to deliver title within 15 days renders the contract for title unenforceable. In Hento, this Court interpreted a vitally different statutory provision dealing with motor vehicle titles. The statute in Hento made it a misdemeanor to fail to deliver title within 24 hours of the delivery of the resold used motor vehicle. However, the statute also specifically declared that: No action or right of action to recover upon any such motor vehicle, or any part of the sale price thereof, shall be maintained in the courts of this state by any such dealer or vendor, [who failed to deliver the title within 24 hours.] This Court noted that the purpose of that provision was to discourage and prevent, so far as possible, the sale of stolen motor vehicles, and voids a sale made without compliance with its provisions, ... The statute relied upon by the Graens, SDCL 32-7A-17, contains no such specific voiding of mobile home sales for failure to deliver title within 15 days. The statute simply makes the failure a class 2 misdemeanor. Moreover, SDCL 32-7A-17 seems to be designed to ensure the payment of all taxes and registration of all mobile homes in a timely and efficient manner after the delivery of a mobile home. Without the specific language of the statute in Hento, it appears that the only statutory effect of SDCL 32-7A-17 is to make it a class two misdemeanor to fail to deliver title within 15 days. Thus, the contract for title was fully enforceable, despite the failure to deliver title and the trial court is affirmed.