Copyright © 2009, CtWatchdog.com
In a major victory for Connecticut consumers, the city of Hartford has agreed to drastically revise its towing policies: ending its policies that took advantage of those whose cars were stolen or whose cars broke down – bringing huge revenues to towing companies.
The city of Hartford, in a settlement that still must be approved by a federal judge, is agreeing to work with the owners of the vehicles before having their cars towed, which had required the owners or their insurance companies to pay towing and storage charges, it has been learned by Ctwatchdog.com.
For a copy of the tentative settlement, please click here.
Hartford has also agreed to reimburse potentially thousands of people, whose cars were improperly towed, $15 each and to stop accepting $20 from each tow in what some consider as kickbacks from towing contractors. Some victims were even prohibited by towing companies from taking personal belongings in their vehicles until their charges were paid – in cash.
Another provision would require the city to set up proceedures to waive charges for indigent people
Hartford Attorney Jeffrey Nobel – of Izard Noble LLP, won the settlement. He and his legal team launched the two federal class-action lawsuits based on complaints from two victims whom I asked his firm to represent while I was the Watchdog columnist at The Courant.
 I was fired on Aug. 3 for refusing to be nice to key Courant advertisers and have since launched CtWatchdog.com, where I am editor and publisher. My attorney, Joseph Garrison of New Haven, plans to file our lawsuit against the Courant in September.
“Our focus was to change the system,” Nobel told me in a weekend telephone interview. “We wanted to change the system to help people get their property back,” and to give victims a chance to get their vehicles before they are towed.
He said he was also mindful of Hartford’s interest to provide public safety and he said the proposed settlement achieves a good balance.
The city of Hartford is not admitting any wrongdoing in accepting the settlement, which provides for $100,000 in legal fees to Nobel’s firm.
The key plaintiffs, Tracey Crawley and Preston Garcia will also receive compensation. Crawley is to get $2,500 and Preston will receive $1,000.
The issue arose two years ago when Hartford police discovered Crawley’s car, without wheels and damaged starter,  on Bodwell Street in Hartford. (the following account is from my original column in The Courant).
Instead of calling Crawley of East Hartford, Hartford police called Reno’s Auto Body & Towing. Reno’s, like many Hartford towing operations, has a contract with the city permitting it to pick up the stolen cars in return for a $20 kickback to the city.
Crawley, whose car was stolen Dec. 29 in Manchester, asked Reno’s for permission to see her car and take out any personal belongings that might have been left in it. Reno’s refused, saying she first had to pay the $97 towing charge. Crawley, a clerk in Hartford, told me she didn’t have the money to pay the charge.
Crawley – through a friend - Crawley contacted the Watchdog. I put Crawley in touch with  Nobel, who agreed to represent her free.
 Nobel went to Reno’s with Crawley and he, too, was denied permission to enter the car, a 1994 Chrysler. Crawley said she would gladly give the car to Reno’s, but Reno’s owner refused, saying he would sue her for the towing charge as well as for storage.
Nobel then filed an appeal with Hartford police, which was denied.
He then filed a lawsuit claiming  that Hartford’s practice violates the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause, as well as state law and internal Hartford police guidelines.
Both state statutes and police guidelines require that police first attempt to contact the owner of a stolen vehicle before turning the car over to a private towing firm, Nobel said.
Nobel added that it took several days to find the Hartford police guidelines, because not even the police officers knew where to find a copy.
The other plaintiff in the lawsuit is Preston Garcia of Manchester, whose car was stolen on Jan. 9, 2006, in Hartford. It was found three days later and was immediately towed by Friendly Auto Body & Towing.
Garcia, Nobel said, was called by Hartford police as his car was being towed. Since the car was drivable, Nobel said, Garcia would have been able to take it directly home, instead of having to go to Friendly — what a great name — and pay $97. His appeal was also rejected by Hartford police.
Besides Nobel, state Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farell Jr., also took up the issue.
He investigated Crawley’s claims and ended it by fining the towing company.
THE FOLLOWING IS FROM HIS PRESS RELEASE TWO YEARS AGO
 “This settlement clarifies that consumers cannot be kept from their towed vehicles if they need to recover personal items which are essential to the health or welfare of any person,†Farrell said.
The agency is accepting a compliance agreement from Joseph Vassallo, President of Reno’s Auto Body and Repair, Inc. of Hartford. The towing company is agreeing to pay the state $1,000 and to stop barring owners of towed cars from accessing their vehicles in order to retrieve personal property as allowed by law.
“Once this consumer’s plight was first brought to our attention by George Gombossy’s Watchdog column in the Hartford Courant, we launched a complete investigation,†Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. said. “After a careful review of statements, police reports and relevant State and city laws, we found that Reno’s actions were in conflict with public policy.â€
The Department’s investigation found that Tracey D. Crawley of East Hartford had been prevented by Reno’s from accessing her towed vehicle. Ms. Crawley’s car had been stolen from a store parking lot in December of 2006, and in late January of 2007, was found by Hartford police in the city. All four tires and its license plate had been stolen and its ignition was tampered with. As part of its towing contract with the City of Harford, Reno’s towed the damaged vehicle to its lot and locked it up for storage.
Ms. Crawley told agency investigators that in the days following the recovery, she twice visited Reno’s Auto Body to collect necessary personal and family possessions from her vehicle and was told by Reno’s that she couldn’t touch her car until she paid all the towing and storage charges, which at that time totaled more than $200.
The $1,000 payment from Reno’s will be deposited in the Department of Consumer Protection’s fund for consumer protection education and enforcement.
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I’m really glad to see you holding the city of Hartford and the towing companies’ feet to the fire; my car was stolen twice while living in Hartford, and my ex-boyfriend’s car once. My costs alone were over $200 for both incidences. Why is the compensation so low for the victims? Just seems as if it is a token settlement.
I’ve seen a lot of DIY auto body workr and I’m sorry to report that 80% of them need to be redone. And corrections cost more than an original repair would because so much needs to be corrected. But if you are really detailedabout your steps and use your local auto body supply store for tech support, you can deliver great results on the first shot.
How come you never wrote in your column that by law,that the only thing towing companies are allowed to give without payment is medication. As far as personal belongings go the company was not breaking any laws by doing so. I think Renos could have worked out a deal when the owner offered to give the car as payment. The towing company still would have made money by Junking the car. Most junkyards pay $200 to $300 for cars..It may have not been what was owed between towing and storage, but it would have been fair for both parties.