A towing company mistakenly towed a car and charged the owner regardless their wrong...

P

Paul

New member
...procedure. Can it b Sued? My property manager mistakenly and verbally assigned the same parking spot to another tenant and I. Last night the other tenant saw my car in “his spot” and called the towing company, which proceed to tow my car based on the verbal indication of this person (the other tenant) Neither him nor I have any written agreement that specifies the property of the spot.
This morning, I was basically forced to pay $265 to get my car back regardless the situation. My questions is: shouldn’t the towing company request some sort of written document to proof that the person calling to tow the car is the legit owner of the spot, before towing the car? And If I take the towing company to the small claims court for taking my car and charging me without a legit authorization, do I stand any chance to win it?

Thank you
 
Nice neighbor!

The towing company will insist on getting paid. They followed bad information. The person who called them would be the most liable. Get a copy of their documentation to verify who called them. If they don't want to help you out, nicely inform them that you'll have to waste their time in court also via a subpoena, you understand their position (just doing your job guys!), but you'd rather leave them out.
If neither one of you has a written document assigning that space, then you've already won. That neighbor cannot prove it was his spot. Most judges will see him as unreasonable as it doesn't sound like he even tried to contact you to ask you to move your car.
Good luck. Don't forget to get your court costs back also!

I agree with the idea of approaching landlord first. If you don't get his/her immediate cooperation, let it go right there and go after the neighbor. But ultimately you have the upper hand. You can sue the neighbor, and he, in turn can sue the landlord. You don't have to admit that the landlord assigned the spot to both of you unless you actually heard the conversation, that's called "hearsay" and is usually not admissable in court. If the landlord admits it to you, it's going to become his problem and bill either way.
 
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