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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    19

    Default Vehicle Towing and Contract Law

    This is an age old concern of mine that I have never gotten a good answer for. This question centers around "Contract", not junk, stolen, or abandoned vehicles. Also, I am not disputing the Statutory right to tow.

    Hypothetically, I purchase a 2009 vehicle. It is properly licensed, registered, and tagged. I park this vehicle in an apartment complex. The apartment complex takes exception to this and has the vehicle towed.

    Here is my concern. The apartment complex has a contract with a towing company. There are only two parties to the contract, the apartment complex and the towing company. In my residence I have a contract with a trash company to come twice a week and remove trash from my property and I pay a fee for that service. The above mentioned 2009 vehicle is for all practical purposes unwanted trash on the apartment complexes property. The apartment complex has that unwanted trash (2009 vehicle) removed by the towing company whom they have contracted with for that service. It would seem that the apartment complex would pay the fee for trash removal as I pay a fee for trash removal.

    I am not a party to the contract between the apartment complex and the towing company. The fee for this service should be payed by the party whom contracted that service. For me this would be grand theft auto as my 2009 vehicle was just stolen. I did not contact the towing company, speak with the towing company, negotiate with the towing company, authorize the towing company, nor enter a binding contract with the towing company to move my vehicle from point A to point B. There was no meeting of the minds nor an offer and acceptance between the towing company and I. I do not understand how I can civilly be compelled to pay ransom for a vehicle kidnaping when a binding contract between the towing company and I does not exist.

    I can understand, agree, and appreciate if the apartment complex wants to civilly sue for trespass in order to recoup the towing fee as the trash that was removed from the property would have been my trash.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Vehicle Towing and Contract Law

    If you live in the complex, your contract is your lease, most of which spell out the towing issue in great detail. The apartment complex then contracts with the towing company to ENFORCE their portion of their contract with you. The "contract" you're speaking of isn't a service for fee contract, it's a permission from the complex to operate on the complex's private property.

    If you are a visitor to the complex, which is private property, things are a little less cut and dry. If a court determines that adequate notice (which must often fit within municipal guidelines) is adequate, and a person chooses to park there, the contract is implied, and just as enforceable (ie the court finds that the rules were clear and the person chose to park outside the rules. If the rules are shown NOT to be clear, the towed party may prevail and collect REASONABLE damages from the apartment complex who failed to adequately post the signs or other information. That means for towing fees and storage fees that aren't excessive - in other words, you can't leave the car at the tow yard for a year and then sue for a year of storage fees. Note how the tow company has no liability.)

    Things can get even muddier (liability wise) when visitors to a complex park in a spot that gets them towed, because their friend who lives in the complex failed to notify them of the rules (again, this is usually spelled out in the lease, where tenants must notify guests of the rules). In these cases the towed party could/should sue the friend who argueably (under their lease) assumed the burden of providing notification and failed to do so. Friends hate to sue friends, so these cases typically fall back to the adequate signs scenario above.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Vehicle Towing and Contract Law

    Thank you. That was dead on and perfectly understandable. As a college student (U of A) it was always difficult to find a parking space close to the campus. Businesses and apartment complexes seemed to have a grudge against students parking on their property.

    Vehicles will be towed at "Owners Expense". I always questioned "Why & How".

    Thanks again

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