This case discusses an issue involving the ownership of a vehicle when partial payment of an agreed upon purchase price had been made prior to a fatal collision involving the vehicle.  In this case, the parties reached an agreed purchase price of $3,600.00 for a vehicle.  The purchaser only paid $1,000.00 for the vehicle before returning it to the seller for repairs.  The seller was involved in a fatal collision before the full purchase price could be secured.  The purchaser actually got insurance for the vehicle when they reached an agreed purchase price.  Moreover, it is a transaction between two private individuals, rather than a dealer/private party.  The dispute in this action was whether the car was actually owned by the new purchaser, and whether the new insurance company would be liable for the accident.  The court held under Illinois law the ownership for insurance purposes is not dependent upon transfer of title but rather the intent of the parties involved in the transaction.  In this case, the seller took partial payment from the purchaser, never returned the partial payment, and testified to the intent of the purchaser to buy the vehicle in full.  Therefore, the court determined the intent of the purchaser was to buy the vehicle, therefore subjected him as owner of the vehicle at the time of the collision.  Thus, the insurance carrier for the owner, the purchaser, would be the primary party responsible for coverage.  As a result, in Illinois the intent of the parties? controls to determine ownership of a vehicle in this situation rather than who actually has title to the vehicle. 

Springfield Fire & Casualty v. Garner