Quote Originally Posted by thegr8one View Post
Hi guys,

I'm gonna give you some free legal advice. Never deal with open deeds of sale especially with motor vehicles. Generally a contract of sale between two parties is valid and enforceable even without notarization. In other words, as regards the buyer and the seller, the sale is valid. But as regards the buyer versus the rest of the public it is not.

The implication here is that for example, you are the seller, your buyer commits a hit and run. The victim of the hit and run is able to take note of the plates. The plates are registered to you (the seller). That being the case, he can hold you liable for the injury he sustained because of the hit and run incident. The seller will be primarily and directly liable despite the fact that there exists an open deed of sale. Why? The Supreme Court said so. The victim of an automobile mishap has an absolute right to rely upon the registration of a vehicle which can be found in public records. The policy was made as such because otherwise, the owner of a vehicle can easily escape liability just by presenting any deed of sale. The law on the registration of motor vehicles was designed that way so hapless victims can have an immediate recourse.

Thus if you're the seller of a vehicle through an open deed of sale, you leave yourself open to liability for injuries caused by your buyer or subsequent buyers of a vehicle, which, by the public's contemplation and by legal implication, belongs to you. You are, however, not left without recourse. You can initiate a third-party claim against the buyer in case such a situation arises however, you will be made to suffer through a trial, which could either be criminal or civil, and you will also have to pay for competent representation.

A deed of sale in the final analysis is just like any contract. There is a consideration (price), an object (car) and consent (as signified by the signatures on the contract). In legal contemplation, an open deed of sale would have a defective consent. Why? An open deed of sale would only evince an intention by the seller to dispose of his vehicle through a sale but that does not mean that such disposition was contemplated to whomever's name appears on the blank provided for the buyer in an open deed of sale.

Don't deal with open deeds of sale. It is a circumvention of the law and may even be considered as tax evasion in certain cases.

As a final note, I remember one of the replies to this post or another one about open deeds of sale stating that a deed of sale which is not notarized is not legal. That is plainly wrong. Clearly, the person who said that did not go to law school. Notarization only makes the contract binding as against the whole world. HOWEVER, even if you do not notarize a deed of sale, the same is binding as between the signatories of that deed of sale.
ganito ngyare sa ate ko, binenta sa iba pero d pa tapos ang hulog, kahit may Dos si ate pa rin hinabol ng lawsuits