Member Files Suit Over Value of Repo'd Vehicle

A member of Meriwest Credit Union has filed in state court here claiming MCU and a local auto dealer violated her rights when it repossessed her car and sold it at auction for a fraction of the fair market value. In her suit, Madelin Fleitas said she borrowed $18,400 in November 2001 from the CU to buy a 1997 Volkswagen Cabrio from the local Nissan dealer, but ceased making payments after a year and asked MCU to take it. Meriwest then sold the vehicle for $4,000, less than half its wholesale value, at a private auction, then served Fleitas with a deficiency judgment of $13,200. California law requires that repossessed property must be disposed of in a commercially reasonable way, with the proceeds from the sale applied to the outstanding balance on any debt on the property.