Hi. My question involves towing from a private property lot in the state of: California
My car was towed by a business that hired a tow company (law cited: CVC 22658), costing me over $200+. The law linked here states in subsection (l) that in order to tow a car legally, a towing company must have written authorization from the property owner:
"(l) (1) (A) A towing company shall not remove or commence the removal of a vehicle from private property without first obtaining the written authorization from the property owner or lessee... or an employee or agent thereof..."
In the next paragraph it says:
"(B) The written authorization under subparagraph (A) shall include all of the following:
(i) The make, model, vehicle identification number, and license plate number of the removed vehicle.
(ii) The name, signature, job title, residential or business address and working telephone number of the person, described in subparagraph (A), authorizing the removal of the vehicle.
(iii) The grounds for the removal of the vehicle.
(iv) The time when the vehicle was first observed parked at the private property.
(v) The time that authorization to tow the vehicle was given."
It then goes on to say the consequences for violating this law: "(4) A person who violates this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (5) A person who violates this subdivision is civilly liable to the owner of the vehicle or his or her agent for four times the amount of the towing and storage charges."
With that background info out of the way, here is my situation. I have a copy of the authorization form the towing company used to gain permission to tow my vehicle. It has all the elements written above, except for the items listed in bold. Two of those items (address, time car was first observed) are left blank. The third (job title) does not even have a blank for it on the form (the tow company creates the form for clients (property owners) to use). The fourth (time of tow authorization) is written as 11:30, but it does not specify whether it was AM or PM (they're supposed to circle which).
Sorry for wordiness, but I am now ready to ask my question. If I want to claim civil damages in Small Claims court (in accordance with paragraph 5), do I have a solid case? The law here seems very explicit about what's supposed to happen and what the consequences are, but have I missed something? Even if I am right, I am fearful that in practice, a judge might dismiss all this as just a big unnecessary technicality. The company DID have a signed authorization form after all, but certain statutorily required elements were missing. The missing elements seem to me to be enough to claim that the company acted in violation of VC 22658(l)(1)(B). But would a judge see it that way?
Whether or not you think so, what is some practical advice for pursuing this? I wouldn't mind settling the issue out of court, and I am willing to accept far less than 4x the impound charge (even just getting my money back would be a happy result). I don't wish to pursue criminal charges (having the company fined $2,500 would be revenge, but not very helpful). Should I file a police report anyway for the misdemeanor charge in order to serve as leverage? If I do, is it possible to choose later to drop the charge if the tow company returns my money? Thank you for your time in thinking over and answering all this.

