Car Almost Towed, Still Had to Pay Fine

[mrfoxum]

My question involves towing laws for the State of: California


Hello, I have a question about my car almost being towed, and a fee I had to pay.

I live in an apartment complex(that is gated) and parked in an "emergency vehicle only" space. I had to carry my gf up to our apartment, she had just been to the hospital and could not walk, so I had to carry her-Im not making this up haha, I dont really have a reason to lie about this, but this is the reason I was in the spot to begin with.

Anyway, I walk down the stairs within 10 minutes to move the car, and there is a man attempting to break into the car. Once I got closer, I saw he works with the local towing company, he is holding a slim jim, and the front right tire is up on a dolly (it had 4 wheels, and the tire/wheel of the car was sitting on top of it). He tells me that Im parked in an emergency vehicle only lane, and that he would release the car for $55-cash or credit. The car was NOT hooked up to his tow truck yet, he had just rolled down the window slightly, and the front right tire was on top of his dolly thing. Was he allowed to charge me money?

I tried talking/yelling at him, but he refused to do anything for me. I understand I was parked illegally, Im not denying that, but was he allowed to charge me a $55 fee? Also, I was initially going to pay by cash, but decided to pay by credit card at the end. He did not give me a receipt, ask me to sign anything, or explain what the $55 dollar fee was, hell, he didnt even ask for an i.d. or registration for the car (which is NOT in my name). Is there anything I can do?

Thanks

ps. I did try searching, but I couldnt find anything for the specific case I have.

[mrfoxum]

okay, here is more information

The CVC listed on no parking sign is 22658

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm

Under that vehicle code, I found the following violations:

"(1) There is displayed, in plain view at all entrances to the property, a sign not less than 17 inches by 22 inches in size, with lettering not less than one inch in height, prohibiting public parking and indicating that vehicles will be removed at the owner’s expense, and containing the telephone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency and the name and telephone number of each towing company that is a party to a written general towing authorization agreement with the owner or person in lawful possession of the property. The sign may also indicate that a citation may also be issued for the violation."

There are two entrances for the propery to drive through, and one side has a 18x23 inch sign, and the other gate(the one I drive through-closest to my apt/garage) has a sign stating 22658, but it is smaller than 17x22

"(B) Upon the request of the owner of the vehicle or that owner’s agent, the towing company or its driver shall immediately and unconditionally release a vehicle that is not yet removed from the private property and in transit."

The car was not attached to the truck

What proof should I try and document/how? Pictures and video showing measurements and locations of signs?
Also, should I try and talk to towing company directly, explaining the failure to comply with code, or just go straight to small claims court?

[That Guy]

You were parked in the fire lane... I'm not sure how far the signage argument will get you!

In response to your original question, read 22658(h):

22658 (h) A towing company may impose a charge of not more than one-half of the regular towing charge for the towing of a vehicle at the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful possession of the private property pursuant to this section if the owner of the vehicle or the vehicle owner's agent returns to the vehicle after the vehicle is coupled to the tow truck by means of a regular hitch, coupling device, drawbar, portable dolly, or is lifted off the ground by means of a conventional trailer, and before it is removed from the private property. The regular towing charge may only be imposed after the vehicle has been removed from the property and is in transit.

You can clearly see that they may charge you half the regular charge if the vehicle is already on the dolly when you arrive! Read the rest of those subsections and, if you choose to pursue it further, plan your case accordingly!

[mrfoxum]

Well after looking at the area closer, the only sign there that says its for emergency vehicles only is the sign the towing company put up. Otherwise the only thing is yellow "warning" painted because there is a curb.

[That Guy]

Well after looking at the area closer, the only sign there that says its for emergency vehicles only is the sign the towing company put up. Otherwise the only thing is yellow "warning" painted because there is a curb.

How do you know it was the towing company that posted the sign? And what color is the curb?

Here is the statute the forbids stopping/standing/parking in a fire lane and the notification requirements for such (note that it does not mention "who" the sign is posted by... Only that it is posted):

CVC 22500.1. In addition to Section 22500, no person shall stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle, whether attended or unattended, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a peace officer or official traffic control
device along the edge of any highway, at any curb, or in any location in a publicly or privately owned or operated off-street parking facility, designated as a fire lane by the fire department or fire district with jurisdiction over the area in which the place is located.
The designation shall be indicated (1) by a sign posted immediately adjacent to, and visible from, the designated place clearly stating in letters not less than one inch in height that the place is a fire lane, (2) by outlining or painting the place in red and, in contrasting color, marking the place with the words "FIRE LANE", which are clearly visible from a vehicle, or (3) by a red curb or red paint on the edge of the roadway upon which is clearly marked the words "FIRE LANE".

[mrfoxum]

The towing company was the one to post the sign because their info is on the sign-so that makes me think that it is their sign. The color of the curb is yellow, with yellow stripes on the ground. The only painted info on the ground is "WATCH YOUR STEP", posted because there is a curb a few feet before the stairs. It does not say fire lane, emergency vehicles only or any other verbiage on the ground that specifies it is for police etc. vehicles only

[That Guy]

The towing company was the one to post the sign because their info is on the sign-so that makes me think that it is their sign.

Re-read 22658(a)(1) (the same section YOU posted) which states:

"(1) There is displayed, in plain view at all entrances to the property, a sign not less than 17 inches by 22 inches in size, with lettering not less than one inch in height, prohibiting public parking and indicating that vehicles will be removed at the owner’s expense, and containing the telephone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency and the name and telephone number of each towing company that is a party to a written general towing authorization agreement with the owner or person in lawful possession of the property. The sign may also indicate that a citation may also be issued for the violation."

As you can see, the name and contact info of the towing company is required by code and is NOT necessarily an indication that it was posted by them!

The towing company was the one to post the sign because their info is on the sign-so that makes me think that it is their sign. The color of the curb is yellow, with yellow stripes on the ground. The only painted info on the ground is "WATCH YOUR STEP", posted because there is a curb a few feet before the stairs. It does not say fire lane, emergency vehicles only or any other verbiage on the ground that specifies it is for police etc. vehicles only

OK, so you were not parked in a fire lane. Instead you were parked in a yellow loading & unloading zone as defined pursuant to VC section 21458(a)(2):

(2)Yellow indicates stopping only for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers or freight for the time as may be specified by local ordinance.

Look through the ordinances for the locality where this occurred to establish how much time you are allowed to park in a yellow zone (wild guess: it will be less than the 10 minutes -or possibly more- that you decided to kick back upstairs before returning to move your vehicle).

"IF" you can establish that your vehicle should not have been towed, you can sue the "bad guys" in small claims court for return of your $55. keep in mind that you'll have to pay the filing fee of (approximately) $30. You can also sue for court costs (filing fees... etc) but in the chance that you do lose, you will be out $55 + $30 = $85 plus the time you invested in research, typing, filing, appearing in court... etc.

Good luck!