Is it illegal to move a vehicle legally parked on the street without permission?
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Is it illegal to move a vehicle legally parked on the street without permission?
I parked my truck on the street in front of my mother-in-law’s home. I was away this morning at an appointment and when I returned to find that it had been moved 20 feet down the road apparently in order for a tree to be cut down and removed. My truck was locked and in gear as I had left it but had been moved without warning or permission. This happened within the span of about 3 hours. I called the city and spoke to the street department who informed me that it was not them but most likely a private company hired by the homeowner. Is there any legal recourse that I can take? I don’t know if there is any mechanical damage to my clutch.
Asked on February 2, 2016 under General Practice, Indiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Yes, it is illegal unless there was a sign posted stating no parking, violators will be towed (and such sign was permitted there by the municipality). (There is one other exception: if there was a true emergency requiring the vehicle be moved: e.g. a serious injury, and the only way to get a rescue vehicle or ambulence close enough was to move your truck.)
There's no point in taking legal action if there was no damage--you can only receive compensation for actual damage or costs, so with no damage, you'd pay money and spend time on legal action without getting anything back. But if there was damage, you could sue the person(s) or business(es) who moved it, if you can identify them and have some reasonable proof (not just a suspicion or guess, even a logical one) that they were the ones who moved it. Remember: to win a lawsuit, you need to prove "by a preponderance of the evidence" (Or that it is more likely than not) that the other side did what you accused them of.)
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