Mid-City Automotive, L.L.C. v. Department of Public Safety and Corrections

267 So. 3d 165
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 7, 2018
DocketNO. 2018 CA 0056
StatusPublished

This text of 267 So. 3d 165 (Mid-City Automotive, L.L.C. v. Department of Public Safety and Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mid-City Automotive, L.L.C. v. Department of Public Safety and Corrections, 267 So. 3d 165 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

PETTIGREW, J.

In this suit for declaratory and injunctive relief against the State of Louisiana, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police ("Office of State Police"), the plaintiff challenges the validity of the Schedule of Fines and license suspension and revocation provisions contained in LAC 55:I.1907. For the reasons set forth herein, we reverse in part and render judgment, and vacate in part and remand to the district court for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff, Mid-City Automotive, LLC ("Mid-City"), operates a towing company in New Orleans, which conducts nonconsensual tows of vehicles from private property under storage inspection license # 15-36-MI087885.1 In 2015, Mid-City received three citations from the Office of State Police for violations of LAC 55:I.1930, which regulates towing of vehicles from private property, and administrative penalties were assessed under the Louisiana Administrative Code for each violation. For the first two citations issued to Mid-City on March 19 and September 1, 2015, administrative fines of $250.00 and $300.00, respectively, were assessed under *169LAC 55:I.1907(A)(4).2 Following the third citation on September 22, 2015, Mid-City's storage inspection license was suspended for thirty days under LAC 55:I.1907(A)(5).3 Mid-City unsuccessfully appealed the suspension of its license in a separate proceeding.4

Thereafter, on April 11, 2016, Mid-City filed this suit for declaratory and injunctive relief under La. R.S. 49:963, alleging that certain provisions of LAC 55:I.1907(A) were invalid and requesting an injunction against further enforcement of fines, suspensions, and revocations under § 1907. After a bench trial, the district court ruled in favor of the Office of State Police and dismissed Mid-City's petition with prejudice. Mid-City appealed.

DISCUSSION

The Louisiana Towing and Storage Act ("the Act"), La. R.S. 32:1711 et seq., was enacted to regulate and license those who conduct towing and storage businesses in Louisiana. La. R.S. 32:1711. The legislature vested the Office of State Police with regulatory authority to administer the Act and to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the Act. La. R.S. 32:1714 ; Capitol City Towing & Recovery Inc. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Pub. Safety & Corr., 03-0647, pp. 2-3 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2/23/04), 873 So.2d 706, 708, writ denied sub nom; Capital City Towing & Recovery Inc. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Pub. Safety & Corr., 04-0770 (La. 6/4/04), 876 So.2d 94. Subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act,5 La. R.S. 32:1714 states that the Office of State Police shall:

(1) Adopt rules and regulations to govern the towing and storage industry in Louisiana.
(2) Adopt rules and regulations to ensure that no person shall operate a towing business when they arrive at the scene of a vehicle accident without being called by the police or by the owner of the vehicle or his representative.
(3) Adopt and levy fines for violation of this Chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant to this Chapter.
(4) Make recommendations to the office of motor vehicles in reference to the examination, issuance, suspension, or revocation of licenses for tow trucks and operators.
(5) Adopt a schedule of maximum fees which may be charged for the notifications required by this Chapter.
(6) Repealed by Acts 2012, No. 806, § 2.
(7) Insure compliance of every tow truck, towing facility, storage facility, and every employee subject to or licensed in accordance with this Chapter with the laws of this state, regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, and regulations promulgated pursuant to this Chapter.

Pursuant to this delegation of authority, the Office of State Police promulgated LAC 55:I.1901 et seq., which contains rules and regulations applicable to any person or entity engaged in the business of towing, recovery, or storage of vehicles for compensation in Louisiana. LAC 55:I.1901. Louisiana Administrative Code 55:I.1907 provides for the assessment of administrative *170penalties for violations of the Act or the adopted and promulgated regulations, and states, in part:

A. Administrative Penalty Assessment
1. A tow truck owner or operator, an employee or the agent of a tow truck owner or operator, a storage facility owner or operator, an employee or the agent of a storage facility owner or operator, determined by the [Office of State Police6 ] to have committed a violation of R.S. 32:1711 et seq., or adopted and promulgated regulations as provided in this Chapter, is subject to legal sanctions being imposed against them. Legal sanctions shall include, but are not limited to, administrative civil penalties, warnings, and suspension and/or revocation of the operator's license, storage inspection license, tow truck license plate.
2. The [Office of State Police] shall issue a citation or inspection report for violations of law, rule or regulation which shall specify the offense committed. The citation or inspection report shall provide for the payment of an administrative penalty to the [Office of State Police] in an amount prescribed by the [Office of State Police] or if a suspension or revocation is being imposed, specify the duration of said suspension or revocation. The penalty shall be paid or imposed within 45 days of issuance and mailing, by first class mail, of the initial notice of violation, unless within that period the person to whom the citation is issued files a written request for an administrative hearing within the 45 days.
3. All assessed and adjudicated administrative penalties and fees shall be paid to the [Office of State Police] and deposited in the towing and storage fund.
4. Schedule of Fines
Schedule of Fines
The following range of fines will be set for violations cited under the corresponding sections. When citing specific violations, the [Office of State Police] will set the fine within the corresponding range.
*171Exemptions and Other Laws (§1903, 1905, and §1909) $50-$500 Code of Conduct (§1911) $100-$500 Tow Truck License Plate (§1913) $50-$500 Insurance Requirements (§1915) $50-$500 Driver's License Required Skills (§1917) $50-$500 Tow Truck Lighting; Equipment (§1919) $25-$100 Required Equipment (§1921) $25-$100 Capacities of Tow Equipment (§1923) $100-$500 Tow Truck Load Limitations (§1925) $100-$500 Inspections by the [Office of State Police] (§1927) $100-$500 Towing Service to Use Due Care (§1929) $100-$500 Vehicles Towed from Private Prop. 

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Bluebook (online)
267 So. 3d 165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mid-city-automotive-llc-v-department-of-public-safety-and-corrections-lactapp-2018.