§ 399-X — Towed motor vehicles

§ 399-x. Towed motor vehicles. 1. Definitions. a. For the purposes of\nthis section, a "commercial tower" shall be defined as any person, firm,\npartnership, corporation or association that engages in commercial\ntowing, as defined in section one hundred seven-b of the vehicle and\ntraffic law, whether by contract or other agreement.\n b. For the purposes of this section, a "storage lot operator" shall\nmean any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association that\nengages, whether by contract or other agreement, in the storage of motor\nvehicles removed by a commercial tower.\n c. For the purposes of this section, a "towed motor vehicle" shall be\ndefined as any motor vehicle removed by a commercial tower without the\nprior consent or authorization of such motor vehicle owner.\n 2. Requirements. Each and every commercial tower or storage lot\noperator, which requires the payment by an owner of a towed motor\nvehicle of all or part of the towing and/or storage charges associated\nwith the towing and/or storage of such owner's motor vehicle as a\nprecondition to the release of such motor vehicle to such owner or his\nor her authorized representative, and which accepts credit cards or\ndebit cards, as those terms are defined in section five hundred eleven\nof this chapter as forms of payment in the ordinary course of business,\nmust accept each of these forms of payment for such towing and/or\nstorage charges.\n 3. Penalties. (a) Whenever there shall be a violation of this section,\nan application may be made by the attorney general in the name of the\npeople of the state of New York to a court or justice having\njurisdiction to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of\nnot less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such\nviolations; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or\njustice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an\ninjunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining and\nrestraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any\nperson has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such\nproceeding the court may make allowances to the attorney general as\nprovided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three\nhundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct\nrestitution. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this\nsection has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not less\nthan fifty dollars and not more than one thousand dollars for each such\nviolation. In connection with any such proposed application, the\nattorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of\nthe relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil\npractice law and rules.\n (b) The provisions of this section may be enforced concurrently by the\ntown attorney, city corporation counsel, or other lawful designee of a\nmunicipality or local government, and all moneys collected thereunder\nshall be retained by such municipality or local government.\n 4. Applicability. The provisions of this section shall not apply to\ncommercial towers or storage lot operators operating wholly within\ncities having a population of one million or more.\n