(a)
Whenever the name and address of the legal owner of a motor vehicle is known, or may be ascertained from the registration records in the vehicle or from the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, no fee or service charge may be imposed upon the legal owner for the parking and storage of the motor vehicle except as follows: (1) The first 15 days of possession and (2) following that 15-day period, the period commencing 3 days after written notice is sent by the person in possession to the legal owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, and continuing for a period not to exceed any applicable time limit set forth in Section 3068 or 3068.1 of the Civil Code.
(b)
The costs
of notifying the legal owner may be charged as part of the storage fee when the motor vehicle has been stored for an indefinite period of time and notice is given no sooner than the third day of possession. This subdivision also applies if the legal owner refuses to claim possession of the motor vehicle.
(c)
In any action brought by, or on behalf of, a legal owner of a motor vehicle to which subdivision (a) applies, to recover a motor vehicle alleged to be withheld by the person in possession of the motor vehicle by demanding storage fees or charges for any number of days in excess of that permitted pursuant to subdivision (a), the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees, not to exceed one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750). The recovery of those fees is in addition to any other right, remedy, or cause of
action of that party.
(d)
All storage and towing fees charged to a legal owner of a motor vehicle shall be reasonable. The following rates and fees are presumptively unreasonable:
(1)
Administrative or filing fees, except those incurred related to documentation from the Department of Motor Vehicles and those related to the lien sale of a vehicle.
(2)
Security fees.
(3)
Dolly fees.
(4)
Load and unload fees.
(5)
Pull-out fees.
(6)
Gate fees, except when the owner or insurer of
the vehicle requests that the vehicle be released outside of normal business hours.
(7)
When gate fees are reasonably assessed, any additional towing fees that exceed 10 percent of the normal towing rate due to the call originating after normal business hours.
(8)
Any storage fees charged for state holidays that exceed the posted standard daily storage rate.
(9)
(A)
Towing fees when the owner or the operator of a tow truck is directed by a law enforcement officer to remove
a vehicle to the nearest shoulder or to level ground adjacent to the roadway for the sole purpose of clearing a roadway to facilitate access by an emergency vehicle at the scene of a state emergency, as defined in Section 8625 of the Government Code, or a local emergency, as defined in Section 8630 of the Government Code.
(B)
An owner or operator of a tow truck that removes a vehicle under the circumstances described in subparagraph (A) and acts in good faith shall not be subject to civil liability for any damage to personal property that results from the removal of the vehicle.
(C)
The limitation of liability described in subparagraph (B) shall not apply to an act or omission by an owner or operator of a tow truck that constitutes
gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.
(10)
Following a request from the vehicle owner to release their vehicle, and upon payment of all fees then due, storage fees for any day that a storage facility fails to release the vehicle.
(11)
Storage fees in excess of 50 percent of the daily storage rate when a vehicle is recovered within the first four hours of storage.
(e)
This section is not applicable to any motor vehicle stored by a levying officer acting under the authority of judicial process.
(f)
Nothing in subdivision (d) prohibits any fees authorized in a written agreement between a
law enforcement agency and a towing or storage company, including, but not limited to, official police garages operating under the jurisdiction of a municipal police commission, if the tow was initiated by the law enforcement agency.
(g)
For purposes of this section, “normal business hours” means Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., inclusive, except for state holidays.
