Towed from my assigned parking spot - Legal?

[BobDoLeSS]

I had been out of town for work for a few weeks to come home to find my car was missing from my assigned parking spot (overpriced/overrated apartment complex with gated underground assigned parking as well as guest spots). I immediately thought it was stolen, but called the tow company listed on the gate to be sure.

As it turned out, they towed my car at the request of the building management for "stored vehicle" as the reason for removal. My car is always parked in that assigned spot, always backed in and I drive it a couple times a month.

I've read through the whole lease and anything they've given notice or requested to sign and I can't find anything that says they would do this. The closest things I could find...

Abandoned vehicles, inoperable vehicles, or vehicles not displaying current registration are not allowed.

One of the maintenance guys also told me once a while back (about another car I had parked in a guest spot) that the guest parking in the garage are ok to use for 72 hrs. I just really don't understand why they would tow my car unless they thought it was inoperable or something.

I've been out of town for a few weeks, so I guess I'm lucky it was just towed less than a week ago, but they want over $400 to get it out.
I found this out late last night and stopped by the tow yard this morning to make sure the car was OK before/after they towed it, but it was fine (no broken windows, air in all tires, still looked clean). They wouldn't tell me which office representative requested the tow. The management office hasn't opened yet.


From a legal standpoint, is what they did illegal?
What should I do? I am considering calling the local police to report the wrongful tow, but I want to try to take care of it myself before bothering them.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

I just spoke with a management rep and they told me stored vehicle is if the car has been sitting for more than 72hrs and they assumed it was inoperable.
He just kept referring me to their manager who is on vacation until monday.

There is no language anywhere in the lease or any documents I've signed or received indicating this 72hr or stored vehicle. The only thing they have is the language I quoted above about abandoned/inoperable which it doesn't seem like there's any grounds for determining that.

Please advise what I should do. At this point, I'm thinking I'll just call the PD regarding the wrongful tow.

 

[DevilSun]

Very clearly describe to them that a vehicle sitting for 3 days does not constitute inoperable, especially since they "assumed" it was. Shoot, you better make sure you don't go away for a 4 day weekend without driving, they'd tow you and everyone else.

 

[yeahyouknwit]

Thats crazy. So if you go on vacation you have to move your car from your own parking spot? This makes no sence to me.

 

[oldmodman]

I would sue them in small claims court. They don't evict you if you don't use your apartment for a few weeks do they?
You are paying for that reserved parking space, it isn't open to interpretation.
And if you are going to be gone again notify the management office by registered mail that your vehicle is not abandoned and it to be left alone.

 

[svtcop]

This would be a civil matter. You will have better luck speaking with the manager of the property. Be polite! Explain your situation. If that doesn't work for you then you're gonna have to go the small claims court route. But keep in mind that if you haven't spent the dough to get the car out its still racking up costs for storage.

When you speak to the manager I would be prepared to counter (politely) any reason they may have thought they had to tow your vehicle. (current registration, operable vehicle, have a copy of your lease, etc.) 72 hours sitting in the same spot that is assigned to you (unless stated somewhere in your lease) should not be a reason to tow your vehicle. Do not threaten them with small claims court, generally people will shut down and call your bluff. If you do not get what you need then just do it.

Do you have some kind of parking pass that shows you reside there?

Did they make any attempts to contact you?

Are you required to notify the management if you leave town for an extended period?

With this being property owned by them you will need to show that you had every right to park your car there as a tenant of the property within their rules for parking.

I would look for another place when your contract is up. :shrug:

 

[fiveohpoepoe]

Make some notes for yourself/case on when you spoke to who and what was said. If they do not pay for the fees, then you have a good case in civil court imo. I would think they would @ least have some knowledge that your car has been there for the amount of time you have. Any new personnel working there?

 

[Njc0las]

Do they have 24/7 surveillance on your car or something? How do they know you didn't drive it at all? My landlord called me up once to ask me if I needed a hand fixing my broken car that was sitting for weeks. I asked him WTF he was talking about because I drove that car almost every day. He just didn't know it because every day when he came to and from the office he saw it sitting there. I'd try to get some credit toward your rent or something and if all else fails, sue them in small claims and be ready to move.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

Thanks for your help guys. I will update this as it moves song and I really appreciate your thoughts on all this.

Very clearly describe to them that a vehicle sitting for 3 days does not constitute inoperable, especially since they "assumed" it was. Shoot, you better make sure you don't go away for a 4 day weekend without driving, they'd tow you and everyone else.

I actually said that much to the guy as polite as possible but he had nothing to offer but an obvious stumped expression.

This would be a civil matter. You will have better luck speaking with the manager of the property. Be polite! Explain your situation. If that doesn't work for you then you're gonna have to go the small claims court route. But keep in mind that if you haven't spent the dough to get the car out its still racking up costs for storage.

When you speak to the manager I would be prepared to counter (politely) any reason they may have thought they had to tow your vehicle. (current registration, operable vehicle, have a copy of your lease, etc.) 72 hours sitting in the same spot that is assigned to you (unless stated somewhere in your lease) should not be a reason to tow your vehicle. Do not threaten them with small claims court, generally people will shut down and call your bluff. If you do not get what you need then just do it.

Do you have some kind of parking pass that shows you reside there?

Did they make any attempts to contact you?

Are you required to notify the management if you leave town for an extended period?

With this being property owned by them you will need to show that you had every right to park your car there as a tenant of the property within their rules for parking.

I would look for another place when your contract is up. :shrug:

My car is noted on the lease as authorized to park there. I have an assigned parking spot which is part of the lease and I was parked in it.
There is nothing anywhere stating I have to notify them that I am going to be away and nothing at all about a timeframe that a car can sit other than maybe if one happened to read into "abandoned" with a head full of acid.

It looks like they just used the amount of time to determine inoperable (which I'm going to assume is what they are trying to say by "stored vehicle") but the car has current tags and everything. One of the office staff (who last renewed the lease with a few months ago) knows what I do for a living and knows I'm gone for weeks at a time.

I paid the $480 to get it out and I know it would cost another $80 for small claims with serving and all, so I just initiated one of those free court offered mediations which should help straighten things out.

I plan to get the hell out of there asap and for once I know I'll really enjoy the pain of moving.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

And they made no attempt to contact me at all. A few days later they called to let me know I need to pick up my new parking permit (new system effective 12/01 doesn't even say anything about stored cars) and said nothing about the tow.

 

[svtcop]

Sounds like you have all of your bases covered. If they are not willing to work with you then good luck in small claims court.

At least things didn't get damaged during the tow. That would have just complicated things more.

Keep us posted on how it works out for you. :beer:

 

[Outlaw99]

pay the cost to get it out. file a small claims to recoup the funds.

it is a civil matter. hiring an atty would cost more than the amount to get it out. your best shot is small claims, that way the management has to prove why they believed the vehicle to be eligible for tow.

you may be able to get some if not all of your funds back. thats a pretty harsh policy.

 

[COBRA_ESQ]

Also check the "house rules", often a lease will require you to obey the rules of the co-op/condo/apartment which are separate from the lease and may have not been handed to you when you signed.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

I had a chance to talk with the manager and have been going back and forth with email.
Basically, his email says everything. They did show me an addendum I initialed stating that "Stored vehicles are not allowed" but does not define stored vehicle or mention 72 hours anywhere. The tow driver happened to be there at the office and I saw him carrying a gift basket into the managers office (WTF). I'm being conservative in my assumptions and I tell myself he was helping them move a few boxes or something. The tow driver advised he chalked the tires and towed it at 72 hours, no more/less.

Here is the email

The ----- leasing office has received multiple complaints that the
vehicle in question appears to be a stored vehicle. As result, the
matter was investigated, and according to ----- parking
regulations, the vehicle was found to be in violation, and then removed
from the premises. Stored vehicles are not allowed at -----.

I sent a long email response which acknowledged that I did see in the office where they had the "stored vehicle" is prohibited in the addendum, but that a "stored
vehicle" was never defined and that part of the contract is very ambiguous. I do not believe any reasonable person would expect their car to be towed in these circumstances given everything that is outlined in the contract (or verbally explained at the time of the contract signing). Had I had any idea that leaving my car sitting for
more than 72 hours in my assigned parking spot would result in it being towed, I would have taken action to prevent that.

They told me that the 72hr thing is listed somewhere in a "California Statute" - is this true?

I also let them know that I was going out of town again and requested to not be towed. I also requested that he forward our email correspondence to their legal department (the management company is massive and has many properties in each state).

His last email after all that:

I understand your frustration, but we must consistently enforce ----- parking policies.

We do not take towing of vehicles at ----- lightly. No member of
the management team likes being placed in a position where it is
necessary to tow a resident's vehicle, but we have a responsibility to
the property owner, and the other residents, to uphold the terms of the
lease contract.
Prior to chalking your tires for 72-hour observation, 2 different
notices were left on the vehicle explaining the violation; both included
a request for the vehicle owner to contact the leasing office. At the
time the tires were chalked, the notices were no longer on the vehicle,
and no contact was made with the leasing office.

Each leaseholder is responsible to review, understand, and abide by the
terms of the lease contract. A verbal conversation with an employee,
regarding your line of work, does not nullify the terms outlined in your
lease contract.

Under the mutually agreed-upon terms of your lease contract, the vehicle
was removed from the property after it was determined the vehicle was in
violation of ----- parking policies.


As I mentioned earlier, we must remain consistent in the enforcement of
----- parking policies. For this reason we can not allow storage of
any vehicle, for any reason. My suggestion is to ask your wife, or other
designee, to move the vehicle so it does not violate the 72-hour policy.
Also, as brought to my attention by vigilant residents, and photographed
by ----- Towing, the vehicle was stored long enough that it
continually had a thick layer of dust on the car, further adding to the
appearance that the vehicle was being stored. Moving the vehicle and
keeping it free of the thick layer of dust will help prevent the
appearance of a stored vehicle.

At your request, I will review the incident with our team of attorneys.

Of course we saw no notices and are expected to take his word for it. ...the car was spotless... I forwarded his emails to their regional manager as a last ditch effort before I spend the $80 for a small claims filing and serving fee.

 

[RDJ]

file the small claims and include those costs in your case. I would ask for punitive damages as well (wouldn't expect to get them but I would ask). I seriously doubt that he can apply state abandonment / storage laws to private property. but just to be sure I would want him to proved the legal basis for what he is claiming.

 

[MARK C]

Sounds like you have a good case!
Good luck!

 

[CPRsm]

The laws here state you have to have the code up in plain site. Doesn't matter if it tells you where or who the company is twoing it. Needs the towing statute up there with it. Otherwise there is no towing legal except for leo's. If it's posted, the manager has to sign for it to be towed, or another authorized personal assigned by the complex or leasing company. If no signature it is illegal. Ask the tow service for the signature.Now if all this is followed, it's going to be civil like already stated.
The 72 "statute" they are referring to is local enforcement, and not all areas have it. That is only for public parking, streets, etc.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

Thanks guys

The laws here state you have to have the code up in plain site. Doesn't matter if it tells you where or who the company is twoing it. Needs the towing statute up there with it. Otherwise there is no towing legal except for leo's. If it's posted, the manager has to sign for it to be towed, or another authorized personal assigned by the complex or leasing company. If no signature it is illegal. Ask the tow service for the signature.Now if all this is followed, it's going to be civil like already stated.
The 72 "statute" they are referring to is local enforcement, and not all areas have it. That is only for public parking, streets, etc.

I believe they do have a sign up with phone numbers to the police and the tow company, but I'm not 100% sure how much of the towing statute is spelled out.


For the 72 hour thing - Is it vehicle code section 22651 ? Anywhere else possible?

My wife went out to my car today and found they chalked the tires again... Less than a day passes and they start this again. What could they possibly think they're standing on?

The "chalk" they're using won't come off. It is more like paint. I had to use one of those magic erasers to get it off the windshield (they used it there too when marking the car at the tow yard). I suppose I should sue for a new set of rear tires now that they defaced both driver/passenger tires now.

I won't be back home for another 3 weeks, so I'll have to wait to get that started.

Is it just me, or is this completely ridiculous? I must be missing something because I can't believe they could be this screwed up.

 

[BobDoLeSS]

I asked where he was getting the 72 hour language from and received this response.

72 hours is state code. Although we are a privately owned property and
have the right to regulate the time per the owners wishes, we do follow
the standard set by local law. Also, the 72 hour limit is posted on the
signs at the entrances to the property.

There are signs at the entrance I have only glanced at as you would have to stop the car on the way down the driveway and take a few seconds to read them. It will be a few weeks until I can read the signs. I am pretty sure it is something about parking in guest spots, but I can't recall exactly.

If it is on the signs, does that ruin my chances?

 

[svtcop]

You're obviously not getting anywhere with the management.

Off to small claims court you go! :banana:

Oh, and I like the intimidation tactic the manager used when he said he would "review it with his team of attorneys". :lol1:

Are you scared yet? :nonono:

Good luck man!