QuestionMy RV which was also my home, was towed for registration violation in santa clara, ca. Yesterday marked the 15th day of impound, and they informed me that it had been 'junked'. Now, there is no way for me to get all of my belongings, bcuz they're already gone... All of my legal papers, my work tools, all of my clothes, everything i owned was in my home... is this legal?? They will not even tell me where they junked it too...
AnswerWell, sorry to hear this.
But I have to say that California has many laws regarding towing of vehicles, both by Police and from private property.
One of them is a "Value based lien process" which provides a shorter time before disposal of the vehicle. Sounds like that is what happened there.
Property also stays with the vehicle as the contents are considered part of the vehicle. But in some cases, personal property such as important papers, medicine, keys and such can be released to the owner.
The California DMV web site has all the information and you can search it for specific answers, and I really hate to say it, but there might have been some local city laws involved which might be harder to find online. Look in the "lien sections" for information on disposal of vehicles, and notifications.
Here is the state web site http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm
As to legal, it sounds that way, but then again I am not a lawyer and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (just slept in my trucks sleeper)
