Arrest Warrant Blues

[TroubledinCA]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
California

Back in March I was given a fix it ticket in a work vehicle. I gave it to my boss to take care of ( company policy, but still a big mistake ). A month or so later I got a courtesy reminder in the mail which I also gave to my boss. A week and a half ago I was talking with him and somehow it came up that he hadn't taken care of so I went straight to the scales and got it signed off and he mailed it. Well apparently an arrest warrant was issued that morning and they crossed in the mail (surprise!).

The bail is 609.00 (my boss will pay) but it's sited for both the original VC24400A1 -I and VC40616-M. A misdemeanor! Doh! I have a clean record. I've never been in trouble other than a couple speeding tickets spread out several years. I'm going to the court house on monday to take care of the ticket and pay the bail. I'm going to request a hearing to (hopefully) persuade the judge to transfer the ticket to the company so that I don't have a misdemeanor. Worse case scenario for me is that I can't get it transfered and I end up with the misdemeanor on my record this will mess up my employability to future companies. Would I have a case for suing my boss for negligence or something? I like my boss and my job (for once) and am hesitant to do this but what kind of monetary damages could I get?

Thanks!

 

[outonbail]

As the operator of the vehicle you are directly responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle. This includes making sure that all required safety equipment is in place and functioning properly.

Your boss is financially responsible for the cost of maintenance & repairs on the vehicle and for keeping registration, insurance and all applicable transportation fees paid and current, because they are company vehicles.

If a driver gets cited for an equipment violation on a company vehicle, every employer I know of takes care of the violation and pays any associated costs.

However it is the driver's responsibility to make sure everything is in safe operating condition before he drives a vehicle on a public road or highway.

When a vehicle is driven on a highway at night without lights, the driver is cited for operating the vehicle on the highway in unsafe condition. The vehicle is not required to have lights if it's left parked in the employers yard.

You should have had the ticket signed off yourself to begin with and not relied on your employer to take care of it. It's too bad that they said they would, then didn't follow through. But you were the one on the line, you signed the citation and your driving record was at risk.
Hence, you should have made sure it was taken care of.

Sorry, but I don't see any law suit lottery in your future,,,,,,,

 

[CdwJava]

Pursuant to CVC 40001 et seq you should be permitted to bring the owner of the vehicle into court a a codefendant.

At this point, I would strongly recommend hiring an attorney as a misdemeanor for failing to correct could dog you if your career involves commercial vehicle operations.

- Carl

 

[TroubledinCA]

I'm hoping of course that the Judge will be willing to transfer the ticket to the company. I carry an Ownership Responsibility form with me everywhere now. One more thing: If an ownership responsibility form was on file with the CHP at the time of the ticket should the officer cited the company or is it an Officer discretion thing?

 

[CdwJava]

This is usually a defense asserted by the person cited. There is a box on the citation form that indicates owner responsibility, but that does not always get checked even if the issue is brought up. This is why it is important to make any court dates and then to bring up the responsibility to the court so that it might be properly directed.

- Carl

 

[TroubledinCA]

Thanks

Thanks for the tips. I like my job and I'm pretty confident that my boss will help me out with this.
Thanks

 

[garrula lingua]

Your boss should appear with you @ court and ask that the ticket be placed in his name only.
Speak with the Bailiff in Traffic Court. In some courts, a Prosecutor will help you out by asking the court to change the ticket to the company name only.

It really requires an 'Officer of the Corporation' (w/proof) to take responsibility, but most courts will switch responsibility on the basis of testimony of an accompanying person who states s/he is an Officer of the co/corp.
If your boss can't go to court, at least get an affidavit from him asking that the ticket be in his name/company name, only.

Tell the Bailiff/court it was an owner's responsibility situation and you were told it was taken care of. Most Bailiffs will help you out & they know the court process and traffic law as well as the Judges & attorneys.

 

[TroubledinCA]

Affadavit

Not sure what that is but he did give me a letter printed on company letter head signed by him saying that (paraphrased) 'The vehicle (license #) was ticketed during the course of employment duties. The citation is the companies responsibility and not that of TroubledinCA's. Please transfer this citation to the owners responsibility.'
I also have the original ticket copy that was signed off.