Commerce Acceptance of Oklahoma City, Inc. v. Press (1967)
Citation: 428 P.2d 213 · Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma · Decided: May 16, 1967
Source note (2026-10-18):
- Links on this page to
https://static.case.law/p2d/428/cases/0213-01.json,https://static.case.law/p2d/610/cases/1222-01.jsonare an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.
An oklahoma decision giving a garage’s possessory lien under 42 O.S. § 91 priority over a previously perfected security interest (a recorded chattel mortgage) on a car, under former UCC 9-310.
Source note: opinion text retrieved from the Caselaw Access Project’s scan of the Pacific Reporter (static.case.law). OSCN, the official court host, returned a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge on 2026-10-17 and was not used.
Facts
A finance company held a recorded chattel mortgage on a car. A transmission shop towed, repaired and stored it and kept it for unpaid charges. The lender sued in replevin.
Holding
Affirmed the judgment awarding the lender possession subject to the shop’s superior lien; no completed auction was adjudicated. Under former 12A O.S. § 9-310, a possessory lien for services or materials furnished in the ordinary course of business “takes priority over a perfected security interest unless the lien is statutory and the statute expressly provides otherwise.” Section 91 then said nothing about priority, so the shop’s lien for towing, repairs and storage came first. The court rejected the lender’s argument that the lien was governed by 42 O.S. §§ 131–132 (“subject to all prior liens”), and upheld the storage charge on the trial court’s finding that the owner requested storage.
Practical impact
- The case is the historical basis for Oklahoma garage-lien priority, but the statute has since changed: 42 O.S. § 91(A)(3) now provides that the special lien “shall be subordinate to any perfected security interest unless the claimant complies with the requirements of this section,” and § 91A(A)(2)(b) is to the same effect except for Class AA wrecker towing charges (text retrieved 2026-10-17 from oklegislature.gov). A buyer at a § 91 lien sale should treat the lender’s priority as turning on the claimant’s statutory compliance, not on this case alone.
Good-law status
Qualified by later amendments to 42 O.S. § 91 and revision of UCC Article 9 (now § 1-9-333), not a finding that a later court formally overruled it. The current rule expressly conditions priority/title approval on compliance; the Class AA towing exception in § 91A is limited. Full current Title 42; Title 12A.
Actual affirmative treatment: Security National Bank & Trust Co. v. Reiginger, 1980 OK 70, 610 P.2d 1222, quotes and applies the priority rule, and separately resolves returned-mail and debtor-name search issues on its record. Its full opinion was retrieved. Full holding and identified treatment verification are not a comprehensive still-good-law certificate.
Applies in →
oklahoma · towing-storage-and-mechanics-lien-sales · motor-vehicles
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify current statutes, procedural facts and subsequent treatment before relying on this historical decision.