Towing Issues: Car Towed For No Reason, fire lane, tow operator

Question
Hi Jason,

We live in an apartment complex where parking is hard to come by and the spots are extremely tight.  Last night, my fiance parked in a spot that has the lines for a parallel spot, but where the curb should be there is a block of sidewalk. She parked in the parallel spot and onto half of the sidewalk. On the left side of the car there is no sidewalk continuing, in front of the car there is a a 3' x 3'  sidewalk square and a bush directly in front, and on the right side of the car is where the walkway is.  The walkway is designated by 2 post painted red to designate to not block the entrance for fire reasons, etc.

I hope that you can picture how the car was parked, because everyone repeatedly parks there in this configuration.  I know it is illegal to park on the sidewalk (even though there would be no reason to walk on this section anyway), but the car was towed last night for the reasons of the Towing company was that it was blocking a fire lane.  That is false.  The "fire lane" was the section between the two posts.

Apparantly the towing company has video of the car before the tow, which we haven't seen. I understand that she is in the wrong for parking on the "sidewalk" but she wasn't blocking the fire lane.  After paying $250 and getting the car back, is there any ground to stand on, ie laws, that we can be supported by to fight this?  I feel as if that we were just mugged of $250 and we know who the mugger is, but the law can't give me my money back.

Please help!!!

Frustrated and broke,
Zack

Answer
Zack,
First of all, it would help to know where you live. In California, the law requires that a vehicle be parked on private property for a minimum of one hour prior to anyone actually having it towed. Also, the property owner (or his agent) must be present to sign the authorization to have the vehicle towed. As for the video the tow operator claims to have of your fiance's car blocking the fire lane, I wouldn't trust a word anyone says unless and until somebody shows you the tape. Otherwise, it's your word against theirs. And quite frankly, if I were you I'd take them to small claims court and see just what kind of evidence they actually have. Also, if you feel like your car was towed illegally, you should let the owner of the property know that their legal requirements regarding towing of vehicles were not met and that you will take legal action against them if they do not reimburse you for the cost of towing your vehicle. Best of luck to you.