Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Laws on vehicle storage and lein sales
I have a vehicle that was left on my property( private residence) when the tenates left I have been storing this for 8 months. I have tried to contact the owners with no response. I then conducted a lein sale. and found there was a lein holder ( finance co.) I proceeded with the sale and charged $8 dollars a day storage the going rate in towing yards is $13-16 per day.The finance Co faught my claim and said I legeally could not charge storage because I am not a storage yard. I have spoken with DMV and they said I have to take them to court. what are my rights.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Laws on vehicle storage and lein sales
No offense, but your question doesn't make a lot of sense. A "lien sale" can only be conducted by someone who has a lien on the vehicle, and you cannot just create a lien out of thin air. You say that you conducted the lien sale and learned of the finance company's lien, but that sounds like a lien search rather than a lien sale.
Your only option here is to sue the prior tenants directly. Such a suit would entitle you to the reasonable value of the storage you have provided. You might even be able to obtain a lien on the car this way, but the finance company was there first and their lien would have priority over yours -- in other words, you wouldn't be able to recover a penny on a lien sale until their interest is fully paid.
Incidentally, if there is a lien from a finance company, I imagine that they will try to repossess the car unless your old tenants are making their payments -- which seems unlikely if they just abandoned the car.
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