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She had our vehicle towed

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ditownsend

Guest
What is the name of your state? California

According to the rules of our mobile home park, no parking is allowed on the streets without prior permission from the manager. Violators receive a warning upon first offense, are cited upon second offense and towed upon third offense.

On the 1st of the month, manager verbally gave us permission to park on the street in front of our house while we cleaned our lot. (We had already received our warning and also been cited) Manager said she would tell the security people that we had permission to park on street and not to tow the vehicle while we were cleaning.

For the next 4 days we parked in front of our house, loaded up, hauled away, then parked back in front of the house loaded up, etc., etc. We woke up on the morning of the 5th to find the truck gone. Assuming it had been stolen, we called local PD, to make report, who told us that vehicle had been towed and provided the name and number of the towing company.

The charges to get the vehicle released (if it was picked up by 5 that day) were $180 for the hookup and tow $150 becasue they had to spend an hour tieing down all the lumber and other items we had loaded onto the truck so we could haul it away that morning. Plus we also had to get a one day permit from the DMV, since the tags on the vehicle had expired. $20 would be added to the total for each day the vehicle was left there.

That night, we stopped security and reminded him that we had permission from the management to park in front of the house and asked why he'd had our truck towed. He said that the manager told him to have it towed.

The following morning we were in court for unlawful detainer case that the manager brought against us. All we had to do was show that we had complied with a stipulated judgement to clean up our lot and the case would be dismissed. When the managers lawyer arrived he met with the manager and us in the hall. The manager had taken pictures on the 5th and evidently had made up her mind that we had not complied and she had won. When we showed our pictures, taken that morning (the morning of the 6th) she was absolutely livid. She began complaining and pacing and could not shut up about the mess and this and that. Her lawyer told her that we had complied and that she had agreed to dismiss the case if we did. She continued to rant on. He told her "let's go take a look at the place right now". She ranted on, screamed "No!" and ranted some more. Eventually we and her lawyer were able to calm her down. She was still pissed off but in control of herself. We asked her several times why she had had our truck towed after giving us permission to park there and got 3 different answers from her about whether or not she had even given us permission and she insisted that she had nothing to do with it being towed even when we told her that the security guard said she authorized it. We left it at that, tired from the stress and glad it was all over (for now) we went home.

When going through my paperwork later, I found some of the pictures that the manager had taken, in my file along with a couple printed email letters. Evidently, during all the confusion with her ranting and pictures being passed back and forth, some of her paperwork ended up in my file.

The emails were both dated after the 1st and were both complaints about our lot and how it looked pretty bad. One of those emails was dated the 4th and also said, "Why are the tenants in space 41 the only ones in the park that can park their truck on the street all day and all night and not be cited or towed off? Their vehicle has been on the street now for the last 4 days and no citations issued."

I'm sure the people who wrote those email complaints assumed they would be kept confidential, the names, I mean. And I'm sure they would be very upset with the manager if they knew she had carelessly basically handed the printed copies over to us. We even wish we hadn't read them. One of the complaintants is a lady we talk to often and thought was a friend and it would have just been alot better had we not ever even seen her email because it sorta hurts that she didnt come to us rather than complain to manager.

Anyway, we have since spoken to the owner of the tow yard who told us that the manager not only approved the tow but that she was pushing it. She or the security guard who works for her made phone call after phone call and finally the eighth towing company (the one where our truck is still stored) they reached, had a truck in the area and could come right away. He said they were told to come in, hookup and go just as quickly as possible that she wanted this vehicle off the property. They had to quick get the truck out in front of the park so that we would not wake up and stop them, then they had to tie down all the stuff and off they went... 30 miles away (there are several tow yards nearby).

Long story, I know, but I'm done. Now I just want to know if I can make her pay if I take her to small claims court. For whatever it costs to get the truck released, including the one day permit, for money the business lost because work truck was impounded, for car we will end up renting this weekend so we can go to the grocery store, etc.

Any input will be appreciated.
 


stephenk

Senior Member
why havent you gotten your truck out of impound?

you arent entitled to reimbursement for having valid tags put on the vehicle. you should have had that done anyway.
 
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ditownsend

Guest
Time, money, transportation problems. By the time we got all the cash together on Friday afternoon, the towing company was just about to close for the day. Said if we couldn't make it out there by 5, we would have to wait and pick up the truck on Monday, as they are closed all weekend.

I kind of figured we wouldn't be able to collect anything for registration/one day permit, but, I wonder about the rest of it.
 
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ditownsend

Guest
If anyone can answer a few questions for me I would really appreciate it or any other comments.

In order to win in small claims court, I assume we will have to prove that we had permission to park our vehicle on the street. Does the fact that the truck was parked there for 4 days and nights without even being cited or the neighbors email complaining about the fact we had been parked there for 4 days and nights without even being cited prove that we had permission? If we can prove we had permission, will we also have to prove that no one notified us that we no longer had permission before they towed our truck? Surely, if we can get copies of the security guards logs for all five nights, that would prove we had permission to park there. Do we have a right to see copies of those records? If we can't get copies from the company, can we ask that the court order them to submit the records?
 

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