Towing Issues: Was it legal for them to tow me (CA)?, property management company, small claims court

Question
QUESTION: I parked my car in a private parking lot in a space reserved for patrons of a restaurant around 10 am, before the restaurant was open.  I was planning to have lunch with a colleague at the restaurant around noon.  I went in to an adjacent building where I work to meet another colleague for about an hour.  When I emerged to meet my lunch appointment around 11:30, I discovered that the car had been towed.  As a result, I had to cancel my lunch appointment and go fetch my car.  My question is:  given these circumstances, can I take the property management company who ordered the tow to small claims court (in California)?

ANSWER: Were there any signs at or near the entrance or restaurant building suggesting parking enforcement? You could review the laws and ordinances or even try small claims but all that aside what may hurt your claim is that you left the property. It doesn't matter whether the restaurant was open or not. Once you left the property you were not considered a customer for the restaurant at that time. You may have had plans later but doesn't give your vehicle free parking until then. Also some parking enforcement areas have time limits even if you are a paying customer at that time. Try to view this from the restaurant's owner or manager's point of view. Being competely honest with you I don't think the odds would be in your favor on pushing the issue.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: There was a sign at the entrance, and the space where I parked was signed as reserved for customers of the restaurant with a 2 hour limit. As for leaving the property: the restaurant and my workplace share the parking lot, as both businesses are part of a single business park owned by the same property management company.  When I left the parking lot to go into my building, would that be considered "leaving the property"?  Thank you in advance for your response.

Answer
At this point I believe you know where the problem exist. Let's take the parking lot out of the equation and focus on the parking space which you were parked in. You stated there were signs warning of such parking enforcement. You were parked in a time limited reserved parking spot for the restaurant at which time you were not a customer. I don't see where any wrong doing was done by the restaurant or parking management. Hopefully this information will give some insight.