4 ms·

Since you can get a warrant in mere hours in some cases, and it takes hours for this guy to even arrive, I don't think that's true. There is some reason that t

Since you can get a warrant in mere hours in some cases, and it takes hours for this guy to even arrive, I don't think that's true. There is some reason that they can't or won't just ask the police to secure the plane, though, and my guess is that the reason is more that it's legally unclear whose plane it is. That is, in some cases, this is legally just theft that's papered over later.

carbon8 17y ago
There are legal frameworks in place for repossession. It's not just and ad hoc grab and run situation. As I understand it, it's indeed true police usually can't get involved beyond keeping the peace since it's a civil issue and they open themselves up to civil liability, but it's very different from theft.
- seanc 17y ago
  Yeah, it seemed to me that the ability of his organization to rapidly process paperwork was more important to his bottom line than the bad-assery of stealing aircraft. Most of the time they just fill out the paperwork and go get the plane. But getting the paperwork straight and finding the thing are really hard to do unless you've got a good team of experts ready on a moment's notice. Which he has. But that would make for boring TV.
bullseye 17y ago
>> Since you can get a warrant in mere hours in some cases I can't speak to property seizure warrants, so you may be right there. However, if it is anything like arrest warrants, this is rarely true. Fun fact: Typically, it takes a mountain of evidence to convince a judge to issue a warrant, and then those serving the warrant have a small window of time to execute. If they are late, or the individual isn't present, then it expires and a new set of evidence has to be presented to issue another warrant. (I often think it's amazing anyone is arrested at all). My lack of knowledge notwithstanding, I doubt that issuing a warrant to seize a plane would be a quick, Law and Order-like process, simply due to the size and dollars involved.
TallGuyShort 17y ago
Repossession occurs when a person hasn't made payments. In other words, a bank or other institution is actually the organization that legally owns the property. They authorize a repo agency to recover the property that they legally own, which means that the repo agency is allowed to do all sorts of things because for all intents and purposes they are recovering stolen property. It is a sticky spot legally, and there are rules they have to follow. But this man has experience doing high-risk repos that public law enforcement doesn't have. It's the difference between regular infantry and mercenaries.
- yhnbgty 17y ago
  Depending on the local law the bank might not own it anymore. If the plane owes landing/storage fees the local law might give the airport a lien on the plane. If it has been used in a crime it might now belong to the local police. So legally the repo man might be stealing the plane form the local government.

carbon8 17y ago

There are legal frameworks in place for repossession. It's not just and ad hoc grab and run situation. As I understand it, it's indeed true police usually can't get involved beyond keeping the peace since it's a civil issue and they open themselves up to civil liability, but it's very different from theft.

seanc 17y ago
Yeah, it seemed to me that the ability of his organization to rapidly process paperwork was more important to his bottom line than the bad-assery of stealing aircraft. Most of the time they just fill out the paperwork and go get the plane. But getting the paperwork straight and finding the thing are really hard to do unless you've got a good team of experts ready on a moment's notice. Which he has. But that would make for boring TV.

bullseye 17y ago

>> Since you can get a warrant in mere hours in some cases I can't speak to property seizure warrants, so you may be right there. However, if it is anything like arrest warrants, this is rarely true. Fun fact: Typically, it takes a mountain of evidence to convince a judge to issue a warrant, and then those serving the warrant have a small window of time to execute. If they are late, or the individual isn't present, then it expires and a new set of evidence has to be presented to issue another warrant. (I often think it's amazing anyone is arrested at all). My lack of knowledge notwithstanding, I doubt that issuing a warrant to seize a plane would be a quick, Law and Order-like process, simply due to the size and dollars involved.

TallGuyShort 17y ago

Repossession occurs when a person hasn't made payments. In other words, a bank or other institution is actually the organization that legally owns the property. They authorize a repo agency to recover the property that they legally own, which means that the repo agency is allowed to do all sorts of things because for all intents and purposes they are recovering stolen property. It is a sticky spot legally, and there are rules they have to follow. But this man has experience doing high-risk repos that public law enforcement doesn't have. It's the difference between regular infantry and mercenaries.

yhnbgty 17y ago
Depending on the local law the bank might not own it anymore. If the plane owes landing/storage fees the local law might give the airport a lien on the plane. If it has been used in a crime it might now belong to the local police. So legally the repo man might be stealing the plane form the local government.