Towbin sued over lease

Single Sign-On: You can use Facebook account to log in to LasVegasSun.com. (We will use your first and last name from your profile.)
Trusted Commenting: Facebook connected users automatically become trusted commenters.

Friday, May 26, 2000 | 10:38 a.m.

A California bank sued a Las Vegas auto dealership over a delinquent lease agreement.

Bank of the West, whose parent company is BancWest Inc., Honolulu, filed suit in District Court against Towbin Dodge.

The complaint says Towbin entered a master lease and installment sale contract agreement with the bank in January 1998. In it, the dealership guarantees the financial qualifications of customers who lease vehicles.

The suit says Towbin signed a lease agreement for a 1999 Dodge Durango in March 1999 with a Las Vegas woman identified as Leticia Padilla. The lease contract was sold and assigned to Bank of the West. The bank said the woman failed to make payments and it learned the woman was not qualified to lease a vehicle.

Bank of the West has demanded that Towbin repurchase the lease contract for $36,854.

Towbin officials could not be reached for comment.