A MAN who was forced to pay $514 to retrieve his car after it was towed decided to fight back – by suing the city.
Andrew Grimm from Portland, Oregon, parked in the downtown area in December 2017 and used the Parking Kitty app to pay for an hour and 19 minutes – but then let the tickets pile up as his car sat there for seven days.
A man who racked up parking tickets after staying in a bay for days longer than he was supposed to eventually saw his vehicle towed[/caption]
He then decided to sue the city – claiming they did not give him adequate warning[/caption]
Eventually, the car was towed away and Grimm, 35, forked out the $514 fee to retrieve it from the tow yard.
But a month later, on January 29, 2018, he filed a suit against the city.
However, some seven years later, Grimm lost the second round in his seven-year effort last Friday – after alleging the towing of his vehicle violated his due process rights by not giving adequate warning.
According to a report by Oregon Live, a US District Judge previously dismissed Grimm’s case against the city, to which Grimm appealed.
But the appeal court upheld the dismissal and found that the city had given sufficient warning to Grimm and didn’t violate his rights.
His argument was that he did not get proper notice due to the accumulated parking tickets, but the court disagreed, saying tickets on the car were enough notice.
The court learned that after Grimm parked his car, he failed to extend his parking time or move his car.
What’s more, while his car’s registration was up to date, the tags had expired.
Over several days, parking officers issued multiple tickets and warnings, including a final warning on December 21 before the car was towed.
To this end, the court ruled that the city had simply provided all the required notices and had no obligation to contact Grimm through other means – such as through the Parking Kitty app.
It was also noted that the city did not have Grimm’s contact details as the car was registered to his father.
Grimm’s lawyer argued the city should have used the app to notify him, but the court found it wasn’t necessary.
The court also mentioned that confirming receipt of notice is not required by law.
Grimm eventually paid a fine for the expired registration, while various organisations supported both sides of the case – highlighting different views on how cities should notify car owners before towing.
This comes as another driver has been stuck paying for a car that started having issues four days after he bought it.
Carl Cameron bought a new 2024 Nissan Altima thinking it’d be a reliable car – but the car started malfunctioning less than a week later.
Cameron said he became worried when he saw lights indicating his tire pressure was high or low, even though he just bought the car from a dealership in Ontario, Canada.
He also couldn’t pair his phone to his car wirelessly. Plus, the radio would flicker on and off.
Months later, Cameron brought the car back to the dealership after being in and out of the hospital due to health complications.
Cameron said the team recognized issues with the car, but they couldn’t figure out what was causing the problem.
The dealership gave him a rental vehicle and told him they were working to replace the part that was broken.
He’s now been waiting months for an update on the car he purchased.
