Towing Issues: inquiry about towing, small claims court, neigborhood

Question
hi just recently i had a van towed in my backyard, i live in a two story building the second floor is my home and the first floor is a commercial space, anyway the van i had towed was parked at our backyard since the day before i asked around my neigborhood who owned the vehicle but nobody said nothing so i tought it was a stolen vehicle it had no license plates in front but there was a license plate at the back and it said the expiration is nov 2009 which i just learned today that it was not its license plates! the only thing i was not able to do was ask my landlord cause i cant get hold of her cause shes at work, anyway from the time i rented my place i was the only one parking at the back! so after the day i had it towed i soon found out that the owner of the van was one of the employees from downstairs, he said that, he told the landlord that he was gonna park there, but never told me! anyways i had it towed, now he is telling me that i should be the one to pay for the towing fee!

Answer
If you are the property owner then you have the rights to have illegally parked vehicles removed, but if you are just a renter - tenant then you do not have the rights unless it is spelled out in your rental agreement.

Now as to state laws regarding this issue. You did not tell me where this happened so I can not provide specific information but in some states you would be guilty of "ILLEGALLY AUTHORIZING" the impound and you could be liable for up to 3 times the cost.
And we will not forget about the small claims court system where they can take you and have a judge decide if you were right or wrong.

Now as to who pays the fee, well the vehicle owner is really responsible for the costs, but he also brings up a valid point.  He had told the property owner that he was parking there and that met some legal requirements.

I would see what happens and be willing to work with then over this issue and I would also get with the property owner and establish who is "LEGALLY AUTHORIZED" to have vehicles removed before you get into a war with the business downstairs.

Hope this helps