§ 55-3-124 — Assignment by person holding lien - Notation of lien - Fee

(a) Any person holding a lien or encumbrance upon a vehicle, other than a lien dependent solely upon possession, may assign title or interest in and to the motor vehicle to a person other than the owner, without the consent and without affecting the interest of the owner, of the registration of the vehicle, but, in this event, shall give to the owner a written notice of the assignment, and deliver to the assignee an assignment of the lien, which assignment shall be signed by the assignor and, if the original certificate of title be in the assignor's possession, it shall likewise be delivered to the assignee, who shall forward the assignment, together with the certificate of title and proper fee for the notation of a lien to the county clerk, which shall note the new lien on the certificate of title in the place and stead of the lien shown in favor of the assignor and return the same to the assignee; provided, that if the original certificate of title is not in the possession of the assignor, the assignee shall forward the assignment, together with the fee for noting a lien on the certificate of title, to the county clerk, which shall procure the certificate of title from the person in whose possession it is being held for the sole purpose of noting the new lien in the place and stead of the lien in favor of the assignor, and the county clerk shall then return the certificate of title to the person from whom it was obtained and shall further notify the assignee of this lien that the lien has been noted on the certificate of title. (b) The assignee of any lien shall be entitled to the same priority among the outstanding lienors and have all the other property rights as had formerly been held by the assignor. (c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding this section to the contrary, the assignor in a multiple vehicle lien assignment may assign the security interest or lien on the related motor vehicles to a person other than the owner, without the consent and without affecting the interest of the owner. (B) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a multiple vehicle lien assignment. (C) The assignee in a multiple vehicle lien assignment may, but need not in order to perfect the assignment or continue the perfected status of the assigned security interest or lien against creditors of and transferees from the owner, have the certificate of title endorsed or issued with the assignee named as holder of a security interest or lien upon delivering to the county clerk the certificate and assignment by the holder of a security interest or lien named in the certificate in the form the county clerk prescribes. (D) If the assignment refers to a security interest or lien that is reflected on the certificate of title and the certificate of title is in the possession of the first security interest holder or lienholder as provided by this chapter, the assignee may, but need not in order to perfect the assignment or continue the perfected status of the assigned security interest or lien against creditors of and transferees from the owner, have the certificate of title endorsed by complying with § 55-3-123 . However, any person without notice of the assignment shall be protected in dealing with the assignor, and the assignor shall remain liable for any obligations as holder of the security interest or lien until the assignee is named as the holder of the security interest or lien on the certificate of title. (2) For purposes of subdivision (c)(1), unless the context otherwise requires, "multiple vehicle lien assignment" means any transaction, or series of related transactions, in which security interests or liens are assigned on more than fifty (50) motor vehicles, whether or not any or all of the motor vehicles are owned by or registered to residents of the state or covered by certificates of title issued by the state.

Legislative History

Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 462,s 6, eff. 7/1/2019. Acts 1951, ch. 70, § 54 (Williams, § 5538.154); T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 59-325; Acts 1986, ch. 771, § 5; 2007, ch. 484, § 25.