Opinion ID: 1817185
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: was the plaintiff damaged?

Text: Collier admitted that the rebuilt car was worth $8,000, but only if he could get a certificate of title for it, which he never received. Buchanan argues that the Department of Revenue was prepared to issue a certificate of title, had Collier signed the application for title presented to him by Lt. Sanders. We have held that even in cases where a certificate of title is issued, the title is merely evidence of ownership and may be contradicted by a showing of fraud. Mobile Dodge, Inc. v. Alford, 487 So.2d 866, 870 (Ala.1986). Code 1975, § 32-8-49, provides that the Department of Revenue can suspend or revoke a certificate of title if it was fraudulently procured or erroneously issued. Id. Had Collier signed the statement on the application for title asserting that the information contained on the title was true, specifically that the car was a 1980 Corvette, that application would have been fraudulent, because Collier was aware at that point that the car was an amalgam of wrecked Corvettes. Thus, any certificate of title that he might have obtained would have been revocable by the Department of Revenue. Where a plaintiff has suffered damage due to the fraudulent conduct of a defendant, the measure of damages is the amount required to place the plaintiff in the position he would have been in had the representations by the defendant been true. Morris v. Westbay Auto Imports, Inc., 512 So.2d 1373 (Ala.1987). Had the defendants' representations that the Corvette was a 1980 model been true and a valid certificate of title respecting the car had subsequently been issued, the value of the car would have been, by all accounts, in excess of $6,000. Because a certificate of title respecting the car could not be acquired, the car had no resale value. Therefore, the plaintiff was damaged.