I have a friend whose dumptruck broke down next to a fire Hydrant in a
cul-de-saq in San Diego, CA. He put cones around the truck and walked
to a pay phone. When he returned about 30 minutes later, his truck
had been towed. What would the proper procedure have been?

He couldn't afford to pay to get it out of impound and it went up for
auction last week. He went to the auction to bid on the truck and was
told that it was against the law for him to bid on his own vehicle. A
couple of years ago he was able to buy another vehicle of his at an
auction, so that just doesn't make sense.

Does he have any recourse? He has a tree trimming business that is
suffering tremendously without his truck.