Washington Appeals Court Upholds Mandatory Vehicle Impounds

The Newspaper
by The Newspaper

Washington state’s second highest court endorsed the growing municipal practice of using extended vehicle impound periods to rack up fees. The a three-judge court of appeals panel considered the question in the context of whether Raymond Mann’s vehicle was rightly taken for thirty days by Kent police on March 13, 2009.

A police officer had run Mann’s license plate and discovered his driver’s license had been suspended. Mann was arrested and his car towed away and stored. Washington statutes provide that a vehicle “may be held for up to thirty days” if driven by someone with a suspended license. Mann requested a hearing in Kent municipal court and successfully argued that the city’s impound ordinance was unlawful because it failed to give the police officer at the scene discretion to reduce the period of impound. The court ordered the car released. The city appealed, and the King County Superior Court agreed the city ordinance violated state law. The city appealed again, and this time the court of appeals upheld Kent’s procedures.

“We hold that the ordinance is a valid exercise of the city’s authority under the impoundment statute,” appeals court Judge Michael S. Spearman wrote. “The statute’s plain language permits the vehicle to be held for up to a specified number of days ‘at the written direction of the agency ordering the vehicle impounded.'”

The appeals court disagreed with the lower court rulings that found the ordinance’s use of mandatory periods conflicted with the flexibility found in the word “may.” The lower courts were influenced by a 2002 state supreme court finding that found a Washington State Patrol regulation that imposed mandatory impoundment in all cases exceeded the authority granted under state law.

“The statute simply states that the agency may not hold a vehicle for more than the applicable number of days, and that it must provide written direction, Spearman wrote. “Other than the maximum impoundment periods set forth in the statute, there is nothing in the statute’s language from which we can discern a legislative intent to limit a municipality’s discretion regarding the period of impoundment… local impoundment ordinances must permit an officer to exercise discretion over the initial decision to impound. But after a vehicle is impounded, an ordinance may impose fixed, mandatory periods of impoundment, consistent with RCW 46.55.120(1)(a).”

The decision is good news for municipalities and private towing firms that charge a minimum of $174 per impound. On top of this, storage fees run $39 per day — or $1170 for the mandatory thirty-day period.

A copy of the decision is available in an 80k PDF file at the source link below.

City of Kent v. Mann (Court of Appeals, State of Washington, 4/11/2011)

[Courtesy: Thenewspaper.com]

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  • Fincar1 Fincar1 on Apr 26, 2011

    In this situation, a driver is dealing with two different entities, the government bureaucracy and the towing/storage company. I wonder if I should be looking to set up one of the latter, pick up some unused land, fence it, and get in cahoots with the local sheriff. Then I make money hand over fist off each impounded car for thirty days, and there's a good chance that the owner doesn't or can't pay my fees; then I can sell it and get the money that way. Sounds like a heckuva deal to me. I find it harder and harder to rebut the presumption that my county, state, and federal governments see me as a profit center....

    • Smrotstnerb Smrotstnerb on Sep 08, 2011

      example. Non knowing person in 2007 gets suspended because of parking ticket that flew off of window while at work. Collections can Optionally send something and they might, after they collect a couple months of interest, but the DOL sends a notice of suspension when your suspended... not a warning. you pay, then pay the DOL 150 to get your liscense back, + 25 to get a NEW license. back to square one right? Nope. if any more suspendeds within a 5 year block, you get your car towed. 30 days. thats 1800 bucks where I live, and you have to pay 1/2 of that within 5 days of your car being towed, just to have a CHANCE to get your car back. now, you pay (rediculous) the deposit, go to court, they hit you with 350 fine plus you have to pay another 150 to the DMV after you clear up the problem that got it suspended. thats 1100 and you haven't got the car yet, now. you then pay the rest of the tow, thats another 750, + the average tow charge you would get (250-400 depending where your at) + 100 for the police to call the tow yard, and your over 2000. how many people in washington can drop 2000 in 30 days. and still smile with a car? My car was only worth a 1000 bucks... so... they charged me the difference after they SOLD the car because I could NOT afford that tab. I haven't even pleaded guilty on the suspended liscense charge yet! Not to mention the whole time I was paying Insurance(100/mo), and now I lose that because of the moving infraction. I tell ya. Laywers do this job for 300 bucks to represent you in suspended liscense cases and do NOTHING. For all those who haven't had one... you have slipped through the cracks of this scam. the court system will coin-op you too, but at least they have a payment plan. Its directly not thier fault... Indirectly its the SERVICES they contract to are the real evil. Insurance companies point system, Tow companies, and Collection agencies rape you more than any court charges will. The worst part is that none of those companies have good reputations for helping their clients with "payment plans". its get raped, and heres the towel, clean yourself up. The best payment plan you can opt for with the collection agencies is 50 percent up front with a minimum of 400/mo till your court fines are paid. Just an fyi. I am a single male in my 30's now.. still paying with a dead end Mcdonalds job that can fire me any day for NO reason, and the cycle starts ALL over AGAIN. This is since 2007 with no chance to actually get somewhere in life because these vultures are picking my remains. I truly thought about going to a different state and starting over because its so damn corrupt... but heres the catch... Its in almost EVERY STATE. so I am really thinking about going to Canada or something because at least there, the court system dosen't even have TIME to do this to you. They still have the 100 dollar charge, and go home with your car after 24 hours. no reinstatement fee from what I hear from my maple leaf friends. 45 percent of people in whatcom county are in jail with a suspended liscense. Oh, hows the economy treating you? how many cars are at the auction sites? I hope your auction car blows up on the freeway... well at least that one guy who bought my car for half of what it was worth, and then i paid 2 times what it was worth retail. Thats American dream and the Beautiful RIPOFF.

  • Relton Relton on Apr 27, 2011

    Used to be, in Michigan, the state and the insurance companies were in a sort of collusion to get your money. The state would assign points to traffic tickets, and the insurance companies would use the points to raise your rates. Then, the state realized that they could muscle the insurance companies out of that racket by charging extra nt to issue points. That's right, fior a fee, the state will waive the points for speeding, etc. Thus the state collects the money that the insurance companies would have colleted. Sort of like to Mafia gangs involved in a turf war. Bob

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