BELLEVILLE – An East Carondelet man claims Paylater Auto Sales fraudulently repossessed his vehicle and ran over his foot before driving away.
Richard Vaughan filed the suit March 18 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Paylater Auto Sales Inc., Paylater Auto Sales II Inc. and Leroy A. Weathers.
According to the complaint, on March 20, 2014, the plaintiff put a downpayment of $2,000 on a vehicle sold by the defendants.
A payment of $400 was due on April 3, 2014. At 6:30 p.m. that day, Weathers, an employee of Paylater, allegedly drove a tow truck to the plaintiff's residence to repossess the vehicle, the suit alleges.
When Vaughan approached the defendant and requested to retrieve his personal items from the car, the defendant agreed. However, according to the complaint, when the plaintiff was reaching into the vehicle, Weathers moved the tow truck forward, causing the vehicle to run over the plaintiff's foot. As a result, Vaughan claims he fell and sustained injury.
The tow truck driver allegedly disengaged the truck from the car and drove away, the suit states.
The suit alleges that the plaintiff then attempted to contact the defendants to make a payment, but the defendants did not respond. Instead, on April 8, 2014, the defendants allegedly had an employee follow the plaintiff to a doctor appointment, where they repossessed the vehicle.
Vaughan alleges seven counts against the defendants, including negligence, violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act and common law fraud.
The plaintiff seeks judgment against the defendant in excess of $50,000 plus interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief the court deems just and proper. He also requests a jury trial. He is represented by William K. Holland and Nolan D. Drafahl of Goldblatt & Singer in Clayton, Mo.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 16-L-148