Towing Issues: was my car towed illegally?, small claims court, apartment managers

Question
my apt complex is cracking down on cars in the lot w/no permits.  i found a notice on my car one day, and my response was to make sure the permit (which i keep on my dashboard)(which had slid to the middle) was placed in the corner of the dash, clearly visible thru the windshield.  two days later, my car was towed.  the landlady claims she didn't see the sticker and didn't know whose car it was.  i was willing to accept it as being as much my fault as hers until two days ago.  two tenants told me that they were in the parking lot when the truck showed up.  they told the landlady it was my car.  she told them there was no sticker on the back window.  they told her that i kept it in the front window and if she looked at the windshield she would see it.  both tenants tell me that she DID NOT look at the front, just had the car towed.  i want my money back.  do i have a leg to stand on?

Answer
Sue,

This is a tougher question than it seems at first.

In most cases I have to side with the tow company, and in this case it sounds like they were just acting on the landlady's request, so I wouldn't expect them to pay you back, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Since you have witnesses, and a permit, you may possibly be able to take the landlady to small claims court, but I am not a lawyer so you might find legal advice much more helpful than I can be.

Again, this is tough. I would be very unhappy if this happened to me, and it just solidifies my opinion that apartment managers should get the bad reputation that far too often is applied to towers. In fact, I have been lied to by way too many apartment managers myself, and have trust-issues when dealing with most of them.

Was it legal? Private property impounds fall under civil matters, so the police cant really get involved, only courts can, I believe.

Donald