Slip Squatter

[MacShorty]

Apologies if this is in the wrong category.

A friend of mine owns her boat slip. This is in Missouri on the Mississippi River. Her boat had blown engines, so she sold it. Gave the new owner the title and a signed contract stating that he could stay in the slip for $100 a month or until they purchased a new boat, in which he would then have 2 weeks to move the boat. Now he is squatting in the slip and won't move his boat, nor has he paid a dime for the slip use.

He was sent a certified letter reminding him of the contract, stating he had 30 days to move the boat, or it would be towed/put on the hard at his own expense. He was also informed that she has purchased a new boat. He received the letter and return receipt as proof. It is now past that 30 days. He still has not moved the boat, he will not answer the phone, will not respond to texts. He left the engine hatch open and with all the rain we have had the boat almost sunk, she had to spend a day pumping the boat out, so the boat is also becoming a liability due his neglect.

The marina will not help, nor will the board of directors. The service provider located at the marina does not want to pull the boat and get involved (can't blame them). The county sheriff was contacted and he passed jurisdiction to the Missouri water patrol and they will not help either since the boat is in a marina and not blocking the channel. The squatting boat owner lives in Illinois if that matters.

My friend has purchased another boat and is now paying fees on two slips since he refuses to move his boat. He also has NOT titled the boat in his name (but she has copy of bill of sale showing she is no longer the owner.)

Any suggestions on how to handle this outside of hiring a lawyer or a civil lawsuit, which will incur more expenses to my friend?

Thanks all!
MacS

 

[Dave-R]

Lawyer and impound: Dave-R

 

[rlb81]

Whats stopping your friend from not paying the slip fee for this boat?

 

[MacShorty]

The slip the guy is squatting in is owned by my friend. Since she has a new boat she is now having to rent another slip in the marina since this guy won't move his boat.

How do you go about impounding the squatting boat? Police and Water Patrol refuse to get involved.

 

[H20Rat]

What condition are the ropes in? Your friend isn't responsible to make sure someone else's boat is tied up securely. All kinds of things damage ropes, UV damage, sharp dock edges, etc...

The other option is a certified letter that informs the squatter that rental rates are $100/day effective the day after receipt of the letter, until which time the value of rental exceeds the value of the boat, at which point it will be sold [again] to cover rental fees.

I would also inform whatever registering agency in your state that the owner has sold the boat and is no longer responsible for it. Include a copy of the bill of sale.

 

[BWR1953]

Sounds like a job for a salvage company to me. Have your friend call one and get the boat towed out of her slip. Then the salvage company can do what they do.

Could be the squatter is sick, hospitalized or dead and not simply refusing to respond.

Your friend could always get a duplicate title from the state and sell the boat to the salvage company. Whatever the case, the salvage company should be able to handle the deal.

 

[gm280]

I would have zero problems removing the boat from the owned slip and let it drift wherever it wants to go. It isn't your (your friends) boat anymore, and so if nobody else seems to care, pull it out and slide the new one in. Easy Peasy. Doesn't seem like a problem to me! If then a problem arises, just tell the authorities that somebody had their boat in your friend's slip.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Your friend should have moved the boat out of the slip before she sold it. Not sure why she bailed out the water when it's not her boat. The bill of sale is all she needs for proof it's not hers, even if the guy hasn't transferred it into his name....

Even so, the service provider should get involved after seeing the contract/certified letter. He's parked there illegally.

Hindsight is 20/20. Your friend just learned a costly lesson.....

Hopefully. she got her money for the boat....

Since nobody wants to get involved, bring the contract/certified letter to a lawyer. What a mess.....

 

[WIMUSKY]

Whats stopping your friend from not paying the slip fee for this boat?

Because she's already under contract to pay for said slip........

 

[iggyw1]

First of all, be careful what you do with that boat still being in your friend's name. My friend, here in Mich., sold a boat several years ago now. Two years after he sold it, the new owner hit a skier that was being pulled by another boat and killed her. My buddy was called into court and had to go thru the expense of getting a lawyer to prove that he did not own the boat any longer, because the new owner never transferred the boat out of my buddy's name and into his own name, and after the accident, he told the authorities that my buddy was the owner and he was just using the boat. ( Not only the driver, but the owner is liable too in a law suite because he is the one who let someone incompetent drive his boat). My buddy proved that he sold the boat and he was cleared of any involvement, but at a great cost for his attorney.

That being said, if your friend just lets the boat go and drift wherever, and another boater hits it in the dark, your friend may really have great lawyer expenses since she is still the registered owner of the boat. Get a salvage company to come and tow it is the best bet on this one. I would not take the chance to just let it "drift away" with a boat that is in my name. In a law suite, the attorneys will go after anyone they could to make a buck!

 

[bruceb58]

In California, when you sell a vehicle including a boat, you send in paper work showing you no longer own this vehicle/boat. That would be the first thing I would do to avoid liability.

I would be calling a lawyer on this one.

 

[southkogs]

What did the contract she provided him with say about "eviction"? Dunno' the law there, but here in TN in certain cases (and certain dollar values) contract failure can lead to seizure of assets. The contract should dictate what she can do with the boat.

 

[shrew]

The slip owner should have let the boat sink. Then it becomes an EPA issue and the boat will be hauled as salvage. That will be the responsibility of the legal owner of the boat, not the slip the boat was tied too.

 

[WIMUSKY]

I agree. Once he had the BOS and a filled out title, it was legally his boat. But, I'm sure she was thinking she would be responsible for the sinking boat since it was in her slip. Which "shouldn't" have been the case... But with that group at the marina, who knows....

 

[R055]

What state are you in? In washington sellers od boats fill out a report of sale so if the new owner didn't title/register it, the old owner would not be held responsible for any damages that boat may cause.

 

[GA_Boater]

Ownership becomes a murky issue when only one side does paperwork. Until the paperwork is done with the state by the new owner, the seller will be jumping through hoops to prove they no longer own the boat. What a mess for the seller!!

 

[WIMUSKY]

Seller needs to make copies of everything.....

 

[MacShorty]

My friend is way too nice for her own good and trusted this guy at his word. Indeed a very costly, and annoying, lesson. Since she is the owner of the slip my fear is she could be held liable to any damages to the dock if the boat sunk or caught fire. He is definitely outside of the scope of the contract which indicates the boat will be pulled and stored on the hard at his own expense...but the storage yard refuses to get involved. Thanks for the idea of looking for a salvage company, we hadn't thought of that and they may be more willing to do it since they could apply for a mechanics lien (or whatever the boat equivalent may be).

I called the guy from my phone yesterday and since he didn't recognize my number he picked up! I said I was my friend's "representative" hoping it would scare him into thinking I was a lawyer. It did cause he was very cooperative. He indicated he got in over his head and was going to list the boat for sale that night and said he would have it sold and moved within 10 days. I asked him about the title and he confirmed that he had not titled the boat and said he would just sign it over to whoever he sold it to. I requested for him to immediately title the boat in his name as that is Missouri and Illinois law. As of this morning the boat it still not listed for sale. My feeling is this guy has no intention on doing anything and is hoping my friends patience holds.

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I'll pass them along and wish my friend good luck. Of course, there are a lot of sloughs here that an improperly moored boat could easily drift into...

 

[tpenfield]

I like the salvage idea the best. . .

Second best would be just setting it adrift.

 

[thumpar]

Ownership becomes a murky issue when only one side does paperwork. Until the paperwork is done with the state by the new owner, the seller will be jumping through hoops to prove they no longer own the boat. What a mess for the seller!!

A lot depends on the state. Here in WA there is a slip at the bottom of titles for sellers report. The buyer fills out their info and signs it. I always take them straight to the DOL instead of mailing them so I know it is done on my part.