DocketNumber： 45975
Citation Numbers： 183 S.E.2d 89, 124 Ga. App. 6
Judges： Eberhardt, Hall, Whitman
Filed Date： 6/4/1971
Status： Precedential
Modified Date： 8/21/2023
Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Preston L. Holland, for appellant.
Leonard N. Steinberg, for appellee.
HALL, Presiding Judge.
This is an appeal from the grant of a summary judgment for the plaintiff in a suit to foreclose a security agreement on a 1962 automobile in the possession of the appellant. The stipulated facts show that the former owner gave a bill of sale to secure debt to plaintiff dated July 30, 1967; that he later sold the automobile to appellant for value; that appellant applied to register the vehicle and was issued a *7 license tag receipt on March 24, 1970; and that plaintiff recorded its claim of lien or security interest on July 9, 1970.
The sole question is priority of claims. A title certificate is not required for a pre-1963 automobile; however, the only way to perfect a security interest in any automobile since the enactment of the Uniform Commercial Code is by filing under the Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Act. Code Ann § 68-406 (a); Staley v. Phelan Finance Corp., 116 Ga. App. 1 (156 SE2d 201). This court has held that a late-perfected security interest is not retroactively valid against an innocent third party who acquired the automobile for value. First Nat. Bank &c. Co. v. Smithloff, 119 Ga. App. 284 (167 SE2d 190).
The trial court erred in granting a summary judgment for the plaintiff.
Judgment reversed. Eberhardt and Whitman, JJ., concur.