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Vehicles towed from public street w/o notice

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Mawjr

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maryland
Hi ,I had an incident happen to me almost five years ago in which I'm still trying to get compensation. I had three vehicles towed from a public street on August 18 ,2011 .According to the motor vehicle statutes in the anecdoted code of Maryland the authorities were supposed to sticker my vehicles,giving me 24 hours to move them or they would be towed ,and if towed I was to be sent by certified mail,no later than seven days of their whereabouts. The vehicles were never stickered and I was never notified by the required letter. A similar event took place in 2009 , where proper protocol was followed,with me receiving notification in a timely manner. It took me over a year to locate them this time ,with me being told by a friend who saw two of them in a towing yard. Those two were very expensive antique trucks. One ,a fire engine that won first prize in the local 4th of July parade a month prior to this incident.My third vehicle was auctioned off without my knowledge,and am told that the company is now out of business. I've contacted several Baltimore County offices including internal affairs of the police department, and am given the runaround. My latest effort is with the Baltimore County Executives office. It's been over 6 months since initial contact and haven't heard back. I called today April 11,2016 and he barely remembered me.He told me back in August of last year that it would take some time. So six months later I called today for an update. As of last year, my two antique trucks were still deteriorating in the towing yard.My trucks were beautiful and well cared for. I've only been able to view them through a fence ,where's they appear to be in poor condition.If the laws were broken by the authorities, who's to hold them to task and either make them return my vehicles to me or provide me compensation? The trucks should be put back in to the condition that they were in ,as well as delivered to me at my residence in Va. What happened is basically grand theft auto .As a result of the incident that I write of, a fourth collectible vehicle has been lost. It was apperantly towed by Code officials from my property because it wasn't tagged. I lost all of the paperwork for this car including the title because ,it was in the vehicle that was towed and auctioned off. I tried in vain to get a replacement title .Had I had the paperwork that was in the other car,I would have been able to have titled that car. Now that car is lost too. I believe that falls under causation.
The above incident was part of a larger Code enforcement operation against me where the director of that office clearly had a vendetta against me. The vehicles were on a public street and were tagged. I was even told by the towing yard operator, that I was going to be delt with ,no matter what laws had to be broken.Needless to say,after finding out the whereabouts of the existing vehicles, the fees are astounding. This is why the motor vehicle statutes were written, to notify the owner in a timely manner to avoid such exhorbedent fees. If the laws were broken ,as in my case, who's to hold the authorities accountable?
The incident occurred in Baltimore county Maryland. I currently reside in Virginia.
Thanks;
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
I'm not going to even begin to delve into whether you have a course of action or not, but the truth of the matter is you likely have allowed too much time to pass. I'm fairly certain this action would have needed to be brought within three years.

Some of your statements are completley ludicrous. They have no responsibility to deliver vehicles to another state. It was incumbent on you to promptly recover your property and then seek recourse as to whatever improprieties you allege were involved in the towing to begin with.
 

Mawjr

Junior Member
I would have retrieved my vehicles had I known where they were. The statutes were written for a reason, not for me to play a game of hide and seek. It was on them to tell me where my vehicles were taken to and notify me prior to their towing.The authorities blatantly did wrong, and should put me back in the same shape as I was as a result. I'm not asking for enrichment.
 

Mawjr

Junior Member
Also as I clearly stated, I found out my one car had been sold without my knowledge . I didn't know where it was taken to or I would have claimed it.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
If you had no idea what happened to your vehicles then what happened when you reported them as stolen?
 

Mawjr

Junior Member
Hi. Why would I report them as stolen, to file a false police report and go to jail? I knew they were towed , but not by who. Doesn't anyone read the thread?This was part of a code enforcement action against me. They were towed! I called the police department that handles the towing and was told there was no record of them being towed. Only several months later a front page article in the local paper even outlined that they were towed.Like I have said, the laws were broken and a big cover up ensued because no one wants to take the blame. This was a game of hide and seek with vehicles, or grand theft auto by government.
 

Mawjr

Junior Member
The point of this the thread is that the police towed my vehicles, covered it up and now I'm left holding the bag because they broke the towing statutes. As is typical with government wrong doing, they just want to sweep this under the rug!!!!
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
If "someone" towed my car and I could not determine who it was then it would be reported as stolen.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I'm not going to track it down for you, but I suspect that you have a limited time to file a claim against the government entity that caused you harm. I'm talking about a formal claim, using that entities procedures, not just a phone call. If you failed to do that, then you cannot sue.
 
Hi. Why would I report them as stolen, to file a false police report and go to jail? I knew they were towed , but not by who. Doesn't anyone read the thread?This was part of a code enforcement action against me. They were towed! I called the police department that handles the towing and was told there was no record of them being towed. Only several months later a front page article in the local paper even outlined that they were towed.Like I have said, the laws were broken and a big cover up ensued because no one wants to take the blame. This was a game of hide and seek with vehicles, or grand theft auto by government.
The police didn't know because it was code enforcement was behind it. Why didn't you contact them? In the city I work for, Code Enforcement and the Police Dept are separate entities. One has no idea what the other is doing.

And to be clear - you DID receive notice. It was in the paperwork that described the "code enforcement action against me." You chose not to respond.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
You've got the same thread going on the other legal forum. Were these vehicles not legally registered to you at the time they were towed?

Quite familiar with Baltimore County. Lived there for many years. I suspect the vendetta is spurred by a neighbor complaining about you leaving derilict vehicles in the neighborhood. Yes, the code guys are pretty persistant in dealing with repetitive violators. It's not a vendetta, it's their job.
 

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