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Lima, OH – July 30, 2025 – For one Ohio woman, her new car purchase turned into a nightmare when only a month after buying, it was repossessed from her work. Fuming, she sought legal action but found that she was bound to a contractual arbitration agreement and there was little she could do. But doing some research, she found a huge hole in the dealership’s legal armor and struck!
The ordeal began in February of 2024 when Tiah McCreary purchased and attempted to finance a 2022 Kia K5 at Taylor Kia of Lima, Ohio. The GM had secured a conditional approval for the loan through Global Lending Services (GLS) and McCreary drove away with the car assuming everything had gone smoothly.
That is until a month later when her Kia was repossessed while she was at work. Furious, she called the dealership who explained that GLS had declined the loan due to an alleged lack of information about her income.
Seeking legal recourse, she did a little research and discovered that the registration of the name “Taylor Kia of Lima” had been canceled by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office after Taylor Cadillac failed to submit a renewal application, according to court documents.
So, what does she do? She registered Taylor Kia of Lima in her own name.
With that done, she took her first swing at them and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Taylor Cadillac informing them that they could no longer use the Taylor Kia name, which they had since 2012, because it was now registered to her. That’s when the legal cat fight started.
In June of 2024, she filed a legal complaint against Taylor Cadillac and GLS in the Allen County Common Pleas Court. In the complaint, she alleged that the defendant companies violated the Consumer Sales Practices Act, committed fraud, conversion, and unjust enrichment by the dealership. In addition, she also sought an injunction prohibiting Taylor Cadillac from transacting any business under the name Taylor Kia of Lima without her consent.
Unfortunately, during the car purchase, McCreary had signed a document that was an agreement to settle legal matters with Taylor Automotive Group through binding arbitration. Taylor Cadillac pleaded with the court that as the result, the case should be handled through arbitration and not a trial court.
The court agreed and dismissed the case. But McCreary was not about to give up; she filed an appeal to the Third District Court of Appeals.
The Third District Court of Appeals reversed the previous decision, writing “this claim is a separate matter that could be pursued independently of the other claims in the complaint that address the consumer transaction at issue. Since this claim does not fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement, this claim should not have been dismissed and sent to arbitration.”
In short; although McCreary had signed the agreement to settle legal matters through arbitration, it was limited to the transaction of the car sale alone and the claim to use the name “Taylor Kia of Lima” was not subject to arbitration, as it had nothing to do with the Kia purchase.
Reversing the previous decision of the common pleas court to dismiss the case, the case is now headed right back to common pleas court for further proceedings.
To date, McCreary owns the dealership’s name. Whether or not Taylor Kia of Lima is respecting the cease and desist is unknown, but I can imagine recovering that name will cost a lot more than the sale price of that KIA.
Source: Road and Track
Repo Revenge – What’s a Name Worth? – Repo Revenge – What’s a Name Worth? – Repo Revenge – What’s a Name Worth? Repo Revenge –
What’s a Name Worth? – Lending – Credit Union Collections – Credit Union Collectors – Lawsuit – Repossession – Repossess – Repossession
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