Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

First, as for the mail going to your parents house - did your brother provide the management and/or owner with a forwarding address when he moved? I'm guessing not, or they would have sent it to him. They have a limited duty to track your brother down, and if they had an address for your parents (pressumably from the rental application), sending the mail there was probably sufficient. The issue of "notice" is also somewhat irrelevant given that your brother knew he left the car there, and should have made arrangements to deal with it. It is not reasonable to expect that he could just leave it behind and the property owner should pay the cost of dealing with your brother's "junk" car.

This is a case which requires a review of more than the limited facts provided here. Understanding how the management arrived at the figure of $25,000 for storage and disposal is a big factor, and while it may seem outrageous, it depends on how long the car was left on the property, and what other work had to be done to remove it and remediate any oil, fuel or other fluids it may have leaked while there. Another question is why would your brother leave the car on their property in the first place? Why didn't he call a towing company, and give it to them for the cost of towing it away? Why didn't he call a wrecking company who might have paid him something for the car. He could have even called a nonprofit that would come pick it up for free and give him a write off. It's interesting that this is somehow the property owner's fault that your brother left his car on someone else's property, and they were forced to spend money to deal with it.

Your first step - get an itemization of the money they claim is owed. From there, have an attorney in your area review the information, and he or she can then advise your brother as to how best to move forward.

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