§ 399-XX — Towing of motor vehicles; credit cards; statewide

§ 399-xx. Towing of motor vehicles; credit cards; statewide. 1.\nDefinition. For the purposes of this section, a "commercial tower" is\ndefined as any person, firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability\ncompany, association, or other entity that engages in the business of\ntowing motor vehicles for consideration.\n 2. Requirements. A commercial tower who responds to a call for\nassistance from an owner or operator of a vehicle that is inoperable or\ncannot be safely operated or who offers to transport, repair, or render\nsafely operable such a vehicle shall, in compliance with any reasonable\nrequest of an owner or operator of such vehicle, repair the vehicle or\ntransport the vehicle and its occupants to a reasonably safe location\nwhere repairs can be made. The commercial tower shall not be required to\ntransport all vehicle occupants if the number of occupants exceeds the\nnumber of passengers that can be safely transported. The owner or\noperator of the vehicle shall be liable to the commercial tower for the\ncost of towing and repair services provided. The commercial tower shall\naccept cash and all other forms of payment that such commercial tower\naccepts in the ordinary course of business, including credit and debit\ncards as those terms are defined in section five hundred eleven of this\nchapter as payment for all or part of the charges for towing and repair\nservices accepted and provided. The commercial tower may require such\nproof of identification from persons making payments in forms other than\ncash as the commercial tower requires for such payments in the ordinary\ncourse of business. If the owner or operator of a vehicle declines\nservices of the commercial tower or cannot or will not provide payment\nand identification for towing or repair services, a commercial tower\nshall notify law enforcement about the location and identification of\nthe vehicle and its occupants. The provisions of this section do not\napply to a vehicle which is lawfully parked at the home of the vehicle's\nowner or operator.\n 3. Penalties. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an\napplication 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. 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