COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a lawsuit Monday against a Columbus used-car dealership accused of failing to deliver motor vehicle titles as required by law.
The lawsuit accuses TCB Automotive Group LLC and its owner Andrew Karabinos of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title Act.
It also seeks reimbursement to the Title Defect Rescission Fund, a state program that helps car buyers who fail to receive valid titles to vehicles they purchase from a dealership.
“When consumers fail to receive titles to the vehicles they buy, we try to help them,” Attorney General DeWine said. “In some cases we use payouts from a fund that other dealerships have paid into to help consumers. We are seeking reimbursement to that fund and an assurance that this dealer will not violate Ohio’s consumer laws in the future.”
TCB Automotive Group is currently closed. In the last two years, approximately 30 consumers have filed complaints against TCB Automotive. Most of the complaints involved title issues.
The Attorney General’s Office worked to resolve consumers’ complaints, generally by helping them obtain titles to their vehicles. In some cases payments were made from the Title Defect Rescission Fund to resolve the issue. Payments from the fund totaled $9,200.
In the lawsuit, filed last week in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, the Attorney General seeks reimbursement to the fund, consumer restitution, an injunction to stop further violations, and civil penalties.
