Professor of Law Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger discusses McCarthy v. BMW Bank of North America, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 27217 (D.C. Cir. 2007), a case highlighting perfection exposure faced by motor vehicle lenders in states where perfection under the state certificate of title (COT) statute occurs only when the Department of Motor Vehicles issues the COT noting the lender's lien. The district court found that the common law governed perfection during the gap between attachment of a security interest and COT’s issuance. Professor Hillinger writes: 

The Circuit Court for the District of Columbia vindicated the trustee’s view of the world. According to the Circuit Court, the conclusion that the common law governed the “gap period” was not “cogent.” According to the court, that read out the portion of [§ 9-311] stating in the clearest possible terms that a security interest in a motor vehicle may be perfected in one way, and one way “only”—by complying with the requirements of the title statute.

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