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Sales law and the negotiability of motor vehicles: a legal conundrum*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Extract
The traditional common law analysis where a third party wishes to acquire an indefeasible interest in a chattel is to direct the latter to the ‘owner’, as the prerequisite for the enjoyment of most property rights depends upon our ability to acquire these from someone else. In this respect, the issue of whether a disposition constitutes the extinguishment of an interest in the chattel or whether a dealing raises priority questions is fundamental. Extinguishment issues go to rights of ownership, typically, where the property of A is misappropriated by a third party T who disposes of it to B, and the question of law is whether B prevails against A with its attendant consequence of extinguishing A's title. In contrast, a priority dispute arises where there are competing security interests in the same chattel which may be resolved either through a subordination agreement or through clear priority rules.
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References
1. Inherent in the idea of acquiring an absolute right in property is exclusivity of possession, and in this context Blackstone referred to a double right, jus dupliatum or droit droit. See Blackstone Commentaries on the Laws of England II (1857), para 199.
2. There are three possible scenarios:.
(i)T steals the goods from A (the owner) and disposes of them to B.
(ii) T defrauds A into giving up possession of the goods and then wrongfully disposes of them to B.
(iii) T is a bailee or agent lawfully in possession of A's goods and wrongfully disposes them to B.
3. French law continues to protect certain purchasers from thieves as article 2280 of the French Civil Code contains a market overt rule in favour of one who purchases at a fair, market or public sale or who purchases from a merchant dealing in similar things. In the case of French market overt the original owner can retrieve his property from the purchaser only by reimbursing the price paid. The historic English market oven rule has recently been repealed by virtue of Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1994.
4. After the colonial period the US courts specifically disapproved of the English market overt doctrine. This may have been because it was deemed irrelevant to a new nation although, equally, this may have been due to a recognition that circumstances in England differed from the US See Gilmore The Ages of American Law (1977) pp 8–11.
5. See generally Gilmore ‘The Commercial Doctrine of Good Faith Purchase’ (1954) 63 Yale LJ 1057; Waite ‘Caveat Emptor and the Judicial Process’ (1925) 25 Colum LR 129.
6. [1949) 1 KB 332 at 336–337.
7. Deparment of Trade and Industry Consultation Document Transfer of Title: Sections 21 to 26 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (1994). Three propositions are put forward for discussion:.
1. The law should be simplified, and protection for innocent purchasers extended, by replacing the present detailed provisions of the Sale of Goods Act with a broad principle, that where the owner of goods has entrusted those goods to, or acquiesced in their possession by another person, then an innocent purchaser of those goods should acquire good title.
2. The rule of market overt should be abolished.
3. The principle already embodied in Part 3 of the Hire Purchase Act 1964(as amended) should be extended to all goods subject to hire purchase or conditional sale agreement, and also to goods held on lease or covered by a bill of sale.
8. The dispute between A and B may be resolved in conflicting ways in different legal systems at various times. See Levmore ‘Variety and Uniformity in the Treatment of the Good-faith Purchaser’ (1987) 16 Journal of Legal Studies 43.
9. In this context it could be argued that ostensible ownership is an outmoded concept since the financing is often geared towards funding the depreciation of the vehicle in question rather than acquisition of ownership that is, it is never anticipated that the keeper of the vehicle will eventually acquire an absolute interest in it.
10. The figures for theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle (with loss) for 1992 stand at 535,000. In general, vehicle crime in England and Wales has risen by nearly 8% each year since 1984. See Criminal Statistics England and Wales (Cmnd 2134, 1993).
11. This is the first-in-time rule in law and its equitable counterpart is qui prior est tempore potiorest iure. The logic here, as Lord Westbury explained in Phillips v Phillips (1861) 4 De GF & J 268 at p 275, is that the transferor disposes of only that to which he is justly entitled.
12. This principle first appeared in Perkins Profitable Book which was published in 1532 in Law-French citing the Yearbooks as authority.
13. Barthelmess v Cavalier (1934) 2 Cal App 2d 477, at p 487.
14. It is significant that one of the architects of the US Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) which is generally regarded as facilitating the transferability of goods by making buying more attractive through not requiring an elaborate investigation of property rights recanted: ‘In a society that recognises property as something more than theft, you do not go around lightly destroying property rights; you must have a compelling reason for awarding A's property to C …’ See Gilmore ‘The Good Faith Purchase Idea and the UCC: Confessions of a Repentant Draftsman’ (1981) 15 Ga LR 605 at p 612.
15. Sale of Goods Act 1979, s 21(1).
16. Sale of Goods Act 1979, ss 21–26. The nemo dat rule does not in any case apply to money or bearer negotiable instruments where tracing problems would prove to be an insuperable obstacle.
17. The development of the factors legislation 1825–1889 is discussed in Davies ‘Transferability and sale of goods’ (1987) 7 LS 1 pp 26–34.
18. It is important not to be dogmatic here as the position was fluid in the nineteenth century.
19. The significance of s 2(1) of the Factors Act 1889 is that it allows the mercantile agent within certain constraints to pass title even without delivery. Compare ss 8 and 9 Factors Act 1889. See Forsythe International v Silver Shipping Line (1994) 1 All ER 851.
20. In Pearson v Rose and Young Ltd (1951) 1 KB 275 the Court of Appeal unanimously held that a disposition of a car with its logbook was not in the ordinary course of business because whilst the mercantile agent had obtained possession of the second hand car with the consent of the owner, this was not true of the logbook even though, in fact, the mercantile agent had possession of it. See also Stadium Finance Ltd v Robbins (1962) 2 QB 664.
21. Cole v North Western Bank (1875) LR 10 CP 354.
22. Pearson v Rose and Young Ltd above. n 20.
23. St Margaret's Trust Ltd v Cyril Leonard Castle (1964), unreported (CA) 30 July Bar library Transcript 247.
24. Astley Industrial Trust v Miller (1968) 2 A11 ER 36.
25. This can prove to be especially problematical where a dealer operates a contract hire facility within the context of a general motor dealership. Typically, financiers will enter into standard financing arrangements retaining title to the vehicles over periods ranging from as short as three or four months for a daily rental operator to 48 months for a contract hire operator. The dilemma is that a consumer purchaser in these circumstances will be prejudiced even though the sale appears to be in the ordinary course of business.
26. Aluminium Industrie Vassen BV v Romalpa Aluminium Ltd (1976) 1 WLR 676.
27. See Davies ‘The Trade Debtor and the Quest for Security’ in Rajack (ed) Insolvency Law Theory and Practice (1993) pp 43–68.
28. [1895) AC 471. Compare Lee v Butler (1893) 2 QB 269.
29. Section 9 of the Factors Act 1889 states: ‘Where a person, having bought or agreed to buy goods, obtains with the consent of the seller possession of the goods or the documents of title to the goods, the delivery or transfer, by that person or by a mercantile agent acting for him, of the person receiving the same in good faith and without notice of any lien or other right of the original seller in respect of the goods, shall have the same effect as if the person making the delivery or transfer were a mercantile agent in possession of the goods or documents of title with the consent of the owner’.
30. See (1893) 95 Law Times at 447.
31. The Factors Act 1877 was concerned with removing the anomaly presented in Johnson v Crédit Lyonnais (1877) 3 CPD 32, 47 LJQB 241, which distinguished between holding goods or documents of title as a factor and holding as seller or buyer.
32. This would seem to be implied in s 9 of the Factors Act 1889 by the reference to a person ‘receiving’ the goods in good faith.
33. (1987) 163 CLR 236.
34. Compare Nicholson v Harper (1895) 2 Ch 415 where it was held that this was not sufficient but the facts aredistinguishable because in this case the warehouseman was the disponee already in possession.
35. This decision was approved in England in Forsythe International (UK) Ltd v Silver Shipping Co Ltd (1994) 1 AII ER 851.
36. See Pacific Motor Auctions Pry Ltd v Motor Credits (Hire Finance) Ltd (1965) AC 867.
37. Thus in the initial comment to the Sales Article (Comment to UCC 2:101) it is pointed out that the legal consequences of the sale transaction depend upon the contractual relationship of the parties and their action under it ‘without resorting to the idea of when propew or title passed or was to pass as being the determining factor’. A further example is provided in art 9:202 where location of title is irrelevant to the Article 9 rights of debtor, secured creditor and third parties.
38. UCC art 1:201 (37).
39. Tanbro Fabrics Corp v Deering Milliken Inc 35 App Div 2d 469,381 NYS 3d764F, affd 20 NY 2d 690,274 NE 2d 751 325 NYS 2d 419 (1979).
40. JF Dolan ‘The Conflict between Possession and Special Property Interest under the UCC’ (1978) 56 Texas LR 1147.
41. In England, s 54 of the Hire Purchase Act 1965 replaced by Schedule 4 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 has added to s 25(2) of the Sale of Goads Act 1979 and s 9(2) of the Factors Act 1889 so that certain conditional sales are assimilated to hire purchase in that the relevant conditional buyer is not empowered to transmit a good title. However, the approach is somewhat piecemeal because the agreements in question are conditional sales as defined by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (ss 8 and 189(1)) and a conditional sale that does not pass the consumer credit test continues to carry the buyer's power to transmit title.
42. The most notable example here is that of New Zealand where the hire purchase agreement was adopted for much the same reasons as in England. Even so, there was indigenous reform in New Zealand by virtue of the Chattels Transfer Act 1924 which required the registration of certain instruments of bailment.
43. Helby v Matthews above, n 28.
44. The estoppel doctrine is incorporated into s 21(1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, but the development of this doctrine in the context of chattels has stressed the need for a representation either by words or by conduct. See Henderson v Williams (1895) QB 521; Farquarson Bros & Co v King & Co (1902) AC 325; Mercantile Credit Co Ltd v Hamblin (1965) 2 QB 242; Moorgate Mercantile Credit Co Ltd v Twitchings (1977) AC 890.
45. Shaw and another v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (1987) 1 WLR 1322. Compare Eastern Distributors Ltd v Goldring (1957) 2 QB 600.
46. See Final Report of the Committee on Consumer Protection (the Molony Committee) (Cmnd 1781, 1962) para 537.
47. The absence of the log book would have put any purchaser from the hirer on enquiry, whilst, if the owner allowed the hirer to have the log book, a purchaser taking form the hirer in good faith and without notice of the hire purchase agreement would acquire good title.
48. See Hansard (1963–64) House of Lords Vol 253, 10 December 1963 at col 915.
49. The findings of one of the major finance houses, UDT, which conducted at cost benefit analysis of the administration of the proposed Scheme anticipated under the original Bill, were that the annual cost for the operation of the system in the first year would be £700k but the 1963 annual loss for wrongful dispositions would only have been 700 with an average balance outstanding value of £200. As a result the losses in 1963 would only have been £140k whilst the cost of administering the new scheme would have been five times greater. This approach was flawed because the set-up costs of the Scheme were not amortised and the putative losses analysis was made against a legislative and common law background which permitted recovery by financiers of the vehicles which had been wrongfully disposed.
50. This has since been substituted by s 192(2) and Schedule 4, para 22 Consumer Credit Act 1974.
51. See Stoljar ‘Possession in the Civil Codes’(1984) 33 ICLQ 1026.
52. C Civ art 1118.
53. The emphasis in art 2279 of the French Civil Code is on possession a titre de propriétaire which must be uninterrupted, peaceful and obvious (nec vi, nec clam, nec precurio). The difficulty with this approach is that it does not protect possession per se, ie possession which is not for the purpose of prescription.
54. BGB ss 851, 932f. The logic of the German Civil Code is to protect the factual possessor from forcible eviction.
55. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 re-enacting the provisions of the Hire Purchase Act 1965 excludes certain conditional sales from the provisions of s 9 of the Factors Act 1889 and s 25 (1) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. In other respects, the Consumer Credit Act is silent on third party rights in relation to such agreements.
56. A ‘motor vehicle’ is defined in s 29(1) of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 (as amended) as ‘a mechanically propelled vehicle intended or adapted for use on roads to which the public has access’ This is the conventional definition used in road traffic legislation. See ss 185(1) and 186(1) Road Traffic Act 1988.
57. British Credit Trust Ltd v The Owners of the Ship ‘Shizelle’ (1992) 333 LMLN 3. In the UK the system of law used in mortgaging ships has not been adopted for aircraft. Whilst there is no statutorily prescribed form of aircraft mortgage in England and Wales there is nevertheless a register of aircraft mortgages. See Thorne ‘Aircraft Mortgages’ in Palmer and McKendrick (eds) Interests in Goods (1993) ch 2.
58. The definition of ‘disposition’ in s 29(1) of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 (as amended) is extremely narrow as it refers to sale and analogous defined transactions, namely, hire purchase and conditional sale. The definition does not cover a special property interest like pledge or lien and neither does it cover a gift or mortgage or assignment by operation of law or by contract, for example, such as the assignment of the option to purchase to a so-called Vehicle Transfer Agency. Under this arrangement a debtor would hand the motor vehicle to a Vehicle Transfer Agency in return for a promise that the agency would keep up the repayment schedule on the lease or hire purchase agreement. In many cases the Agency failed to meet this commitment and the debtor would be left without the car and still owing money to the Finance Company. The activities of Vehicle Transfer Agencies are now regulated by the licensing provisions in ss 22–24 and 147–150 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
59. Above, n 7 at Proposition C.
60. This problem is not confined to Part III of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 but can also be seen in other statutory exceptions to the nemo dat rule especially the seller in possession (Factors Act 1889, s 8; Sale of Goods Act 1979, s 24) and the buyer in possession (Factors Act 1889, s 9; Sale of Goods Act 1979, s 25(1)) provisions.
61. Niblett v Confectioners' Materials Co (1921) KB 387; Karlshamns Oljefabriker v Eastport Navigation Corp (The Elafi) (1982) 1 All ER 208. Neither case on its facts is close to the situation of a disposer relying on a nemo dat exception to override an earlier owner's title.
62. Given the complexity of the title issue, the behaviour of the owner (financier) may be perfectly reasonable in the sense that the chain of title can only become clear in the light of legal argument and emergent facts. The Court of Appeal has in two cases held the seller liable where the disturbance came from a third party and not the vendor himself. See Mason v Burningham (1949) 2 KB 545; Microbeads AG v Vinhurst Road Markings Ltd (1975) 1 WLR 218.
63. A private purchaser is defined in s 29(2) of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 (as amended) as ‘a purchaser who, at the time of the disposition made to him, does not carry on any such [motor trade or finance] business’ The mischief of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 is geared towards the protection of all who are not connected with the motor trade.
64. Report on Consumer Credit the Crowther Committee (Cmnd 4596, 1971).
65. It is significant that the Crowther Committee Report ibid at 7.7.2 recommended that protection should only be accorded to private buyers and not partnership firms, bodies corporate or unincorporated associations. This approach is different to that advocated by Diamond A Review of Security Interests in Property (1989) at 13.5.6–8 where the present distinction is maintained.
66. The Finance and Leasing Association, which is a trade body representing all UK motor financiers, reported in their response to the DTI Consultation Paper n 7 above that losses through the innocent purchase provisions each year amount to £45m-a significant figure when set against profits.
67. See Weinberg ‘Sales Law, Economics, and the Negotiability of Goods’ [1980) 9 Journal of Legal Studies 569 p 583.
68. Sale of Goods Act 1979, s 12. Compare National Employers' Mutual General Insurance Association v Jones (1990) 1 AC 24. There are some circumstances where innocent purchasers will not be able to successfully shift the loss onto their immediate sellers, for example, if the sellers are insolvent.
69. See Table 2:20 Notifiable Offences of theft recorded by the police by offence and value of property stolen, above n 10. The total value of property stolen reported to the police was £3,617,288,000.
70. There is a great difficulty in gathering useful empirical data not least because of uncontrollable variables most notably the overall crime rates and reporting rates.
71. In 1992, 61% of the total number of vehicles reported as stolen or taken without the owner's consent were recovered by the police. See Criminal Statistics England and Wales above, n 10.
72. National Employers' Mutual General Insurance Association v Jones, above n 68.
73. See generally Davies ‘Transferability and Sale of Goods’ (1987) 7 LS 1.
74. Cundy v Lindiay (1878) 23 App Cas 459. A risk analysis here would have suggested that the owners were negligent by not spotting the discrepancy on the letter heading of the fraudster which they should have done, given the fact that the degree of commercial pressure was less than in for example an inter praesentes shopping situation. See Phillips v Brooks (1919) 2 KB 243; Lewis v Averay (1972) 1 QB 198. Compare Imgram v Little (1961) 1 QB 31; Dobson v General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corpn (1990) 1 QB 274.
75. Institutes II p 713.
76 Blackstone's Commentaries on the Law of England II (1857) pp 460–461.
77. See Gilmore ‘The Commercial Doctrine of Good Faith Purchase’ (1954) 63 Yale LJ 1057.
78. People will pay more for a clear title than a doubtful one. See Weinberg above, n 67 pp 574–582.
79. Historically, unsecured loans have suffered higher levels of arrears than other types of lending. This may be evidenced in the consumer arrears data of the Finance and Leasing Association which is a major provider of consumer unsecured finance and also asset and leasing finance in the UK. The statistics appear as follows:
January 1994 June 1993 December 1992.
Unsecured lending 9.3% 11.0% 12.4%.
HP/Lease 4.1% 7.0% 7.5%.
See Appendix 6 Market Briefing and Monthly Statistics, Finance and Leasing Association (1994).
80. In the USA the certificate of title mechanism has emerged as the process of recording encumbrances on and changes of title to motor vehicles One of the main disadvantages of this paper instrument is that it has been prone to manipulation and duplication which has, in turn, led to elaborate methods of improving security in paper. See Kunz ‘Motor Vehicle Ownership Disputes Involving Certificate of Title Act and Article Two of the UCC’ (1984) 39, The Business Lawyer 1599.
81. See R Posner Economic Analysis of Law (3rd edn, 1986) p 71.
82. The owner may purchase market insurance against theft and fraud or alternatively self-insure by raising prices overall to accommodate these risks On the other hand, the purchaser may buy title insurance or take the risk by paying a lower price for the goods.
83. See Trebilcock ‘The Role of Insurance Considerations in the Choice of Efficient Civil Liability Rules’ (1988) 4 Journal of Law, Economics and Organisation 243 p 258.
84. See Queensland Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper No 39; Law Reform Commission of Victoria Discussion Paper No 28 (1992) at 3.4.2(b)(iii).
85. The general position is encapsulated in Chaml Securities Act 1987 (Victoria), s 7(1); Chattel Securities Act 1987 (Western Australia), s 7(1).
86. This is the position in the USA where the Uniform Commercial Code provides that purchasers must be honest ‘in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.’ See articles 1–201 (19); 2–103(1)(b); 2–403 UCC.
87. [1971) 1 WLR 983.
88. Car and Universal Finance Co Ltd v Caldwell (1965) 1 QB 525 at 533.
89. See, Ex p Snowball, In re Douglas (1872) LR 7 Ch App 534; Earl of Sheffield v London Joint Stock Bank (1888) 13 App Cas 333; Manchester Trust Ltd v Furness (1895) 2 QB 146, Feuer Leather Corp v Frank Johnstone Sons (1981) Com LR 251.
90. Unreported, 14 November 1991 (CA).
91. In Dodds Neill LJ who delivered the judgment on behalf of the Court of Appeal defined ‘good faith’ in the same way as s 61(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and s 90 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, that is, ‘good faith’ is equated with honesty and bad faith with dishonesty.
92. Compare the approach of Clarke J in Forsythe International (UK) Ltd v Silver Shipping Co Ltd (1994) 1ER 851 at 867–868.
93. The modern history of the recognition and regulation of non-possessory security interests in common law countries is often said to have commenced with the English Bills of Sale Act 1854 which introduced system of publicity through registration. In fact, there are earlier examples in Australia and New Zealand of such legislation relating to produce security. The New South Wales Liens on Wool Act was passed in 1843 thus preempting English bills of sale legislation by a full ten years.
94. See above.
95. This is an example of a trade self-help mechanism as the Hire Purchase Bureau (now Hire Purchase Information plc) was established in 1938 as a notification mechanism for the trade by the Finance Houses Section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
96. Moorgate Mercantile Co Ltd v Twitchings (1977) AC 890. In this case the majority approach of the House of Lords showed a reluctance to substitute a desirable practice (registering with the Hire Purchase Bureau) into a requirement sounding in liability in negligence for economic loss. Such an approach would appear to be squarely in line with the current case law which restricts liability in negligence for economic loss. See especially Caparo Industries plc v Dickman (1990) 2 AC 605.
97. It would appear that registration is likely to be a viable option if the following conditions are satisfied: (1) the property is valuable and is not transferred often; (2) it is important to share ownership of the property among several individuals, such as creating a future interest or a security interest; (3) the physical use of the property is important, or the underlying property right is abstract or unembodied, (4) the subject property is capable of precise identification; (5) the asset has a long life; and (6) the property is unlikely to move. See Baird and Jackson ‘Information, Uncertainty and the Transfer of Property’ (1984) 13 Journal of Legal Studies 299 pp 303–304.
98. See Davies ‘The Reform of Personal Property Security Law: Can article 9 of the US Uniform Commercial Code be a Precedent?’ (1988) 37 ICLQ 465 p 466.
99. The costs of title registration of motor vehicles are reduced because of licensing and registration legal provisions that quire the gathering and recording of this information in any case. See Baird and Jackson p 310, above n 97.
100. The Official Comment to article 9:101 states: ‘The aim of this Article is to provide a simple and unified structure within which the immense variety of present-day secured financing transactions can go forward with less cost and with greater certainty’.
101. A list of current chattel security files can be found in Diamond A Review of Security Interests in Property, 1989 at 12.1.2.
102. In 1971, the proposed Lending and Security Act suggested by the Crowther Committee above, n 64 leaned very heavily on article 9. More recently, renewed impetus to the question of article 9 as a model for law reform has been provided by the Scottish Law Commission's Working Party on Security over Moveable Property under the chairmanship of Professor Halliday Scottish Law Commission Working Paper on Security over Moveable Property (the Halliday Committee) Internal Memorandum, (1986) and, in England, Professor Diamond's Report A Review of security Interests in Property (1989). See now the Department of Trade and Industry Consultation Paper, Security Over Moveable Property in Scotland (November 1994) which eschewed a notice filing mechanism proposal. Compare the Department of Trade and Industry Consultation Document, Company Law Review: Proposals for Reform of Purr XII of the Companies Act 1985 (November 1994).
103. The analogy which can be drawn here is with the ‘prospect theory’ developed under patent law. See Kitch ‘The Nature and Function of the Patent System’ (1977) 20 J Law and &on 265.
104. In effect there are two basic possibilities for the registration process: First, ‘name retrieval’ which creates difficulties, for example, it affords no means of retrieval of information recorded against other names; second, a ‘chattel-indexed registration system.’ This facilitates the recording of and search for security interests and avoids the problem of the alias. There may be a significant problem with such a system where chattels are incapable of precise identification, for example, fine art or antiques A further difficulty with a chattel-indexed system relates to stock-in-trade financing of unascertained goods This may explain why modem personal property security registers seen especially in Canada adopt the debtor's name and serial number of the collateral as true alternative search criteria. In contrast, under UCC only the debtor's name is pivotal to the registration system.
105. See Davies ‘Wrongful Disposition of Motor Vehicles in England: A US Certificate of Title Solution?’ (1994) 23 Anglo-American L12 460.
106. New Zealand Law Commission Preliminary Paper No 6, Reform of Personal Property Security Law, (1988) p 90.
107. Sheridan Suzuki Inc v Caruso Auto Sales Inc 442 NYS 2d 957. Compare Medico Leasing Co v Smith 457 2d 548 (Okla 1969).
108. See Department of Trade and Industry Consultation Document Transfer of Title: Sections 21–26 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (1994) at 5.3.
109. The current UK Government position was set out by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in response to a Parliamentary question as follows:.
‘A clear majority of those representing interests governed by English law argued against major reform. Reform would be complex and in view of the proposed registration arrangements, potentially costly to the Government and business. It could be contemplated only if there was a strong commercial justification. That did not emerge from the consultation and I have therefore decided not to accept the recommendations in Part I of the report for England and Wales’ See Hansard, (1990–1991), House of Commons, vol 253, col 482, 24 April 1991.
110. See generally Comment ‘A Comparison of Land and Motor Vehicle Registration’ (1939) 48 Yale LJ 1238.
111. There have been significant developments in New Zealand and some Australian territories which have adopted a special régime in relation to motor vehicles In part, this reflects the fact that motor vehicles constitute the most important single item of personal property at least as far as consumers are concerned. In New South Wales, the Registration of Interests in Goods Act 1986 established a registration system for registrable interests in motor vehicles including hire purchase or lease agreements. The registration system is similar to that seen under Part III of the more general Chattel Securities Act 1987 which was enacted in Victoria and also in substantially the same form in western Australia This legislation established a registration system for security interests in motor vehicles and trailers. More dedicated legislation can be seen in Queensland with the Motor Vehicles securities Act 1986 (as amended) which is confined in its operation to security interests in motor vehicles. In turn this legislation inspired the New Zealand Motor Vehicle Securities Act 1989 which aims to regulate dispositions in motor vehicles and includes an open access information register. The position is by no means uniform in Australia and there are different priority rules. See Discussion Paper Personal Property Securities Law: A Blueprint for Reform, Queensland Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper No 39 and Law Reform Commission of Victoria Discussion Paper No 28, 1992 at 2.2.5–8.
112. See generally Davies ‘Transferability and sale of goods’ (1987) 7 LS 1.
113. Sale of Goods Act 1979, s 23. See Car and Universal Finance Ltd v Caldwell (1965) 1 QB 525 where it was held that informing the police and a motorist's organisation like the AA or RAC was sufficient to rescind a contract entered into with a rogue.
114. Ingram v Little (1961) 1 QB 361.
115. The vehicle identification number the (VIN) uniquely identifies the vehicle in question including the make, model, colour and exact specification of the vehicle.
116. Peden ‘Title Problems in Relation to Chattels-Proposals for a Registration System for Motor Vehicles in Australia’ (1968) 42 ALJ 239.
117. The Australia Law Reform Commission Report No 64 Interim, Personal Property Securities (1993) at para 9.7.
118. Ibid at 12.8–10. This approach is also reflected in Canada so that the Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission have recommended that a purchaser of goods not in the ordinary course of business will take subject to security interests registered on a uniquely identifiable asset-based register. See Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission cl 30(6), (7) on Reform of Personal Property Security Act (1993).