Towing Issues: Towed vehicle in Hawaii, waipio hawaii, small claims court

Question
Hi, Richard

I live in Hawaii, and I spent the night at my brother-in-law's apartment complex in Waipio, Hawaii. I parked in a visitor parking space. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and my car was missing. The security office of the complex told me that it was towed and gave me the location of the towing company. After doing a little recon of the area, there was no sign on the parking space stating it was a "tow-away" zone. Second, I went to the entrance of the apartment complex, and there was a sign...in small print, and in an area where a driver could not reasonably notice the sign. It is not in front of the entrance, it is located in the entrance roughly 10-feet past; in such a way that a driver turning into the lot would have no way of noticing if he is paying attention to the road. Third, the sign provided the name of the towing company, but not the phone # or the address of the company. Hawaii traffic law §290-11 mandates those specifications. Can I bill the apartment complex for the towing charge, since they aren't following the correct procedures of informing visitors of their parking prohibitions? Thanks

Thomas

Answer
Well if you feel that the laws were broken then you always have the right to take this though the small claims court system.

If the laws says that signs have to display certain information or be placed in certain places then it would be in violation. But remember that laws change often and that sign might have been legal 4 months ago or whatever.

As to charging the apartment, you can try that but remember that you or your brother in law have to live there and they can make your stay a PIA... Increased attention can be a problem.