Opinion ID: 1391596
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Inconsistency With the Certificate of Title Act

Text: The district court invalidated the regulation on the ground that it denies the appellees their statutory right to prove ownership under sections 42-6-108 and 109 of the Certificate of Title Act, and, because of this conflict, the regulation is beyond the scope of delegated agency power under section 24-4-103(8)(a), C.R.S.1973 (1979 Supp.). We find no such inconsistency between the regulation and the Certificate of Title Act. Section 42-6-108 provides that no person shall sell or otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle without delivering the certificate of title to the purchaser or transferee, and no right, title, or interest in the motor vehicle is acquired until the title certificate is properly transferred. Section 42-6-109 requires the owner to execute a transfer of the title certificate upon sale or transfer of the vehicle, and the purchaser must then present the transferred certificate to the department for a new certificate. However, even prior to the 1976 amendment of section 42-6-134, the statute required vehicle owners to surrender their certificate of title upon the destruction or dismantling of said motor vehicle or upon its being changed in such manner that it is no longer a motor vehicle. The failure to deliver a certificate of title does not prevent the acquisition of ownership rights as between the parties to the transaction. United Fire and Casualty Co. v. Perez, 161 Colo. 31, 419 P.2d 663 (1966); Morrison v. Droll, 41 Colo.App. 354, 588 P.2d 383 (1978). See also Randall v. Carroll, 30 Colo.App. 45, 488 P.2d 250 (1971). This is especially so in the case where, as contemplated by the 1976 amendment to section 42-6-134, the vehicle is sold or otherwise disposed of as salvage, and there is no certificate of title to transfer to the salvage-yard operator because of the owner's surrender of it to the department. We construe section 42-6-134 and the 1976 amendment thereto as exceptions to the title transfer requirements of sections 42-6-108 and 109. This construction gives effect to the statute in its entirety, section 2-4-201(1)(b), C.R.S.1973, and is consistent with the object sought to be attained by the 1976 amendment, section 2-4-203(1)(a), C.R.S.1973.