I would say your son is 100% at fault, especially after mentioning snow removal. I think somewhere, maybe in small print, of the lease or posted elsewhere, has the rules for parking on the property. Vehicles can’t sit in without moving for a specific amount of time, need to be licensed and in operating condition, etc… Plus in areas where it snows the vehicles need to be moved within a certain amount of hours after a snowfall to clear the lot.
The email was a courtesy reminder to your son. Did he have the correct email on file? It’s up to him to keep the information current. Knowing he was going to be gone for an extended amount of time and the possibility of snow he should have given the keys to his vehicle to someone and asked them to move it in the event of snow.
From the horror stories I have heard about impound lots he got lucky with no damage to his vehicle relatively cheap release fee.
Take a look at the YouTube channel towtrucker. The guy is interesting. He does non-consensual towing in Georgia. He goes out of his way to be cool and legal, but when an apartment complex calls his boss wanting a vehicle off the property, he does that. If he gets there and the owner has a sob story about the car not starting, etc, he asks why they didn’t talk to the management and sometimes finds a workaround. People pay the drop fee ($100) and he’ll tow it off site and drop it there for them. Win/win.
Nope. The business is regulated by the state. There is no reason to do anything outside of the law. He puts a vehicle on his flatbed in 5 minutes and goes off to get another.
In Michigan, it must be clearly posted in the parking lot that cars can be towed under certain circumstances (no resident sticker and weather emergencies and such) and must state where to retrieve your vehicle.
That’s what I was thinking. If they get served with a dozen notices, they might not be interested. Just one and they probably would. Remember, if it’s a big complex, it’s not like the apartment manager is going to show up, it’s going to be someone (or a lawyer) from the rental company.
My thought would be for a bunch of them to get together and go down to the local Housing Authority who specifically deals with this kind of thing and see what they have to say about it.
Since your son is non-confrontational, I’d honestly suggest dropping it, if only because they further he pushes it, the more likely they are to not renew his lease or cause problems when it’s time to move out.
However, a solid passive-aggressive move would be for him to drop an anonymous email to a few news outlets. They love this kinda stuff. If a few other tenants jump in (especially if any of them are willing to go on camera), I’d bet at least one news station would be happy to help clear this up. They pride themselves in showing how much money they’ve returned to people and $250x12 would give that number a nice bump.
Best part about small claims court is that, to my knowledge, lawyers aren’t allowed. Small claims is where you go to have an impartial third party hear your complaints and the rebuttals and make a decision on who’s responsible for what. Lawyers generally mess up the situation, which is why small claims is such a fabulous and underutilized resource. It’s not a matter of who can afford the fanciest attorney, it’s strictly about who shows up and who has the better case to present.
(Wow, I’m glad to live in a climate without snow…)
But I have a question for the legal beagles: isn’t the apartment management required by law to remove hazardous situations on the property?
If they can claim that the snow created a danger to vehicles or pedestrians, than they have an excuse to order the plowing done immediately.
But to have it towed to an impound yard rather than just out of the way? How can they expect tenants who aren’t home to leave work or school on a moment’s notice?
Where would “out of the way” be? Tow multiple cars to the street and, what, park them? Tow them to one part of the lot then…put them back into their assigned spaces? Most apartment complexes I’ve seen tend to have exactly as many spaces as they need for residents plus a few guests and the parking areas aren’t really conducive to shuffling cars around, especially trying to shuffle them with a tow truck. Can’t even visualize how that would work. Plus, snow plows are unwieldy and they toss big berms of snow to one side that then have to be plowed further to the side and plows fuck up cars something fierce. Also, try to find a tow company that will accept the liability of moving cars from here to there with all the attendant likely damage claims–nope, tow trucks snag cars and take them to the yard, that’s how that works. And if there’s snow falling anyone living there ought to reasonably expect that “move your car so we can plow the lot or get towed” is going to be on the agenda right quick. Which means anyone planning on being out of town during winter really ought to be thinking ahead to make sure a family member or friend has a key to move the car as needed.
Read the lease - dollars to donuts there is something in there about moving your car for plowing and the notice required (if any - may say something along the lines of “within x hours of y inches of snow”).
Not particularly defending the management company, but they are going to get an earful from tenants if they don’t do a good job of clearing the lots.
The impound lot is because someone has to pay the tow company, the management company isn’t going to do it, and the only way the tow company knows they are going to get their money is if you have to come get your car.
I do feel bad for the OP’s son, but if you are going five states away and live someplace where it snows and your car needs to be moved for plowing purposes, you should have a plan for that.
Not so in Ohio. Lawyers are not needed, but are not prohibited (indeed, businesses must be represented by them if they want to file motions, engage in cross examination, etc.).
That is my thought as well. I lived in an apartment complex years ago and your car had be moved by a certain time after a snowfall so the their contracted plows could plow. I think it was by 9:00 a.m.
So, where are the residents supposed to move their cars to, even if they do get and act on the notice promptly? Presumably everywhere else in the city is just as snowed in. And they’d need to allow a broad time window for the plowing, because snow removal services (understandably) aren’t known for their punctuality: You can’t just go take a ten-minute drive and come back, or something. For that matter, can the residents even move their cars, before the lot is cleared? I’ve helped neighbors clear enough to be able to get their cars out of the lot, and it sometimes takes multiple people working for an hour or more to get a car out-- No way that we’d be able to get everyone in the lot out, on short notice.
And why do the cars even need to be moved? At my apartment, when there’s enough snow to need it, they plow the places where the cars aren’t, and the places where the cars are don’t need it, because there was a car covering that spot. There does end up still being snow right next to the cars, in the narrow gaps between them, but residents just trudge through that to their car doors.
Two things - first ,when work has to be done on the street with no notice, my city tows cars to the nearest legal spot on the street so that can be done . The problem is who is going to pay for it. Second, i had a,job rented parking spots in a garage and there were winter parking rules in the contract - my guess is that there is something in the rules/contract for your son’s building.
I think this falls under the catch-all, “Not our problem” rule.
As I mentioned above, Chicago has street signs up all over the place that if there is more than 2" of snow you have to move you car. Not their problem where you go even if there is nowhere to go. Don’t move, you get towed (when it is really bad snow-wise and tow trucks can’t get everyone the snow plows seem to take glee in burying cars that have not moved…I am not kidding about being buried.)
It sucks. I get it. I’ve had to deal with that. But no one cares and tow truck drivers make money for each car they tow so they are never sympathetic and will tow your car if they can.
Kind of the same here. We have odd/even parking (6:00 pm). On odd nights you park on the odd-numbered side of the street, on even nights the even-numbered side. They city plows will lay on the horn non-stop at 3:00 a.m. if they can’t get thru. And while they used to give tickets, they now tow the damn cars who are on the wrong side in the winter.
I’ve lived in and around Boston for 50 years. If you have a car in the city and they need to plow, you move your car to a parking garage for the duration. Not rocket science.
NOBODY is “sue-proof.” And there is no such thing as a rule requiring that a plaintiff has to pay a specific person or company a sum of money before suing.
A poor person may be judgement-proof, but that’s an entirely different issue.