help needed: fellow ducati owner needs to sell stuff to get bike out of impound

[desmoquattro]

I think you guys should still have a beer drink though. 

I plan to be there.

[johnc]

this totally sucks balls.

dq, please don't refund my donation ... send it along to johnny, as i am sure he can still use it for other issues he has going on currently.

f the police, f the impound yard and f the dmv.  they all can suck a my little canadian balls.

Folks -

I got an update from Johnny late last night, and on the basis of what he told me we're going to cancel the fundraiser. I repeat: we're cancelling the fundraiser. There won't be any beer (well, no more than normal) at Ace Café tomorrow night. We'll also be refunding everyone's donations so far.

And now for the longer explanation. On January 6, Johnny got a letter from the DMV warning him about the lien sale on his bike. That letter listed his total fees as $1275, an amount that was well within reach of our fundraising abilities. But after finally getting through to the DMV and the tow yard, we discovered that the DMV is months behind in its notifications, and that the amount they calculated was wrong…in fact, it was a few months old. After accounting for storage fees to date, the total was around $7000. The tow yard is willing to accept $5000, but since we don't have much chance of raising that much (and there are some other legal quirks with the impound we have to work out) we decided to cancel the fundraiser and refund the donations made to date.

Johnny is truly awed by the outpouring of support and encouragement that happened in such a short time. Thanks to all of you who donated, gave words of encouragement, and got the word out. We have an incredible motorcycle community!

Thanks,


Joe

[slower than...]

Yeah, this whole thing makes me sick. 

Last year, my loving neighbor had my beater Toyota impounded and I was not able to get it out right away, short on cash, pretty much like what happened with JohnnyCrash.  I remember it ended up costing me $800 to get my car back when it had a KBB of maybe half that.  Sucks.

I also feel like JohnC and would have asked not to have my donation refunded, but it already has been.  If there is a future event or way to help JohnnyCrash, I will donate again.

[desmoquattro]

Yeah, this whole thing makes me sick. 

Last year, my loving neighbor had my beater Toyota impounded and I was not able to get it out right away, short on cash, pretty much like what happened with JohnnyCrash.  I remember it ended up costing me $800 to get my car back when it had a KBB of maybe half that.  Sucks.

I also feel like JohnC and would have asked not to have my donation refunded, but it already has been.  If there is a future event or way to help JohnnyCrash, I will donate again.

Thanks man. I think we need some serious reform of impound laws in CA. Tow yards make out like bandits and cops are allowed to, in effect, steal your car and sell it. And in Johnny's case it was over a fix-it ticket that went to collections and caused a license suspension. Makes me wonder who the real crook is...

[MendoDave]

Isn't it against the law to forfeit someones property without due process of law?

[mostrobelle]

this totally sucks balls.

dq, please don't refund my donation ... send it along to johnny, as i am sure he can still use it for other issues he has going on currently.

f the police, f the impound yard and f the dmv.  they all can suck a my little canadian balls.

I take offense to the word "canadian" being tossed around so cavalierly in here. 

That's a bummer for Johnny...it seems that he should be able to argue the fee amount.  If he wasn't informed because an agency is behind on their notifications he should have a case.  Or plead hardship and work out a payment plan?  Perhaps consider suing them?  Something just isn't adding up. 

[johnc]

nothing cavalier about it, eh ...

besides, i hate horses, eh.

I take offense to the word "canadian" being tossed around so cavalierly in here.  

[Drunken Monkey]

With budgets being so tight, I expect a lot more pressure to 'collect revenues.'

Co-workers neighbor got shaken down for a few bills over a very similar situation and it's more of a "pay first, get refunds later" sort of arrangement 

I'll add that this same co-worker got a fix-it ticket which I took care of while he was out of the country:

It isn't at all clear what you need to do.
It isn't stated what you need to pay.
Basically if you don't get the vehicle inspected / signed off on, then march the ticket down to the hall of justice and pay them money (amount not stated) you're hosed.

In short it seems almost deliberately designed to make people be not able to be "in compliance."


Plus, I didn't see an of the SuperFriends down at the Hall of Justice, which made me sad.

[desmoquattro]

Plus, I didn't see an of the SuperFriends down at the Hall of Justice, which made me sad.

George Gascon thinks he's Aquaman. But nobody gives a shit about Aquaman.

[desmoquattro]

Isn't it against the law to forfeit someones property without due process of law?

It's against the US constitution and many state constitutions, but police agencies have been doing it for years. In CA, the law in question was signed by Gray Davis with the intent of cracking down on undocumented immigrants by taking their cars and putting an automatic 30 day hold on them. And at $75-$130 a day in storage fees, municipalities and their monopoly tow yard operators are making out like bandits every time someone's car gets nicked. In fact, I hear that some municipalities charge you impound and storage when your vehicle is stolen and the police recover it.

I'd like to see all "revenue" from impounds, traffic citations, and parking citations put into a giant statewide pool of money that gets used for some purpose other than law enforcement budgeting. That might eliminate any perverse incentives here.

That's a bummer for Johnny...it seems that he should be able to argue the fee amount.  If he wasn't informed because an agency is behind on their notifications he should have a case.  Or plead hardship and work out a payment plan?  Perhaps consider suing them?  Something just isn't adding up. 

That's essentially what he's doing. Johnny, with the help of our lawyer friend Kevin Greenquist, is contesting the lien sale on the basis of faulty notice. We tried making the tow yard an offer, but they won't budge. And they won't release the bike until Johnny gets his license back.

[MendoDave]

So If I understand this right...He got a fix it ticket (on the bike?) that he didn't fix, so they suspended his license and towed his bike. One of the stipulations that the towyard has is that he has to have his license to get the bike, but the bike is in the towyard so he cant fix it and get it signed off?

[desmoquattro]

So If I understand this right...He got a fix it ticket (on the bike?) that he didn't fix, so they suspended his license and towed his bike. One of the stipulations that the towyard has is that he has to have his license to get the bike, but the bike is in the towyard so he cant fix it and get it signed off?

That's the gist of it. A fix-it ticket went to collections, resulting in an automatic suspension of his license. The DMV never notified him of that suspension (they're 3 months behind on letters & notifications), so he kept driving. A sheriff pulled him over to hassle him for his license plate mount, radio'ed in his license, found out it was suspended, and impounded the bike instead of giving him a pass. Because the impound was due to a license suspension, state law requires an automatic 30 day hold on the impound (incurring $75/day storage fees) and also requires a valid license and proof of insurance to get the bike out. Now remember that the DMV is 3 months behind on paperwork...so they sent him a letter Jan 6 stating that his fees so far were $1275...but when he called, he found out how far behind that calculation was...it's actually $7000. So now they're going to sell his ride and try to recover those fees. It's absolutely criminal.

[mostrobelle]

I'm really interested in the content of this thread, but am having a hard time separating the Tin Foil Hat Club's bent on things from bare facts.  If what I'm hearing is truly the case, then that's pretty disturbing.

Does anyone know where the policy for this situation is laid out so that I can read it for myself?   

[stopintime]

If someone buys it for half that - will they slap your friend with the difference?

If so, wouldn't the lesser of two evils be to buy it back? (assuming the funds are available)

[desmoquattro]

If someone buys it for half that - will they slap your friend with the difference?

If so, wouldn't the lesser of two evils be to buy it back? (assuming the funds are available)

No. They'll get $4500 for it, but they won't let it go for less than $5000...plus the license issue needs to get resolved.