Security & Theft Anybody familiar with califorina laws, I NEED ADVICE.....

joeminute · Aug 10, 2014

About 5 years ago my neighbor had some work done on their driveway. after all said and done the company left the catipillar 246 skidsteer behind...it was just parked there like a "eye sore"for all these years. so i finally decited i got to do something. so i went down and got the SN off the tractor. i checked it and no nobody claimed it was stolen. i was thinking about putting a lean on it for storage all thses years but io dont know if i can. does any body have any suggestions, how can i claim it if i take it am i responcible for the theft.. its on public property. ?????????

bcp · Aug 10, 2014

If it is on public property, how can you make a storage claim?

Report it as an abandoned vehicle.

Bruce

KiotiKowboy · Aug 10, 2014

You stated it's on "Public Property." How can you claim storage?

Edit - You beat me to it

tcreeley · Aug 10, 2014

Call the company and offer to buy.

George2615 · Aug 10, 2014

If it's on your neighbors property they could place a storage lien on it but they have to notify the company first and give them 30 days to removed the property. If they get no response they can claim it as abandon property. If it's on public property all you can do is complain to the town about the eyesore. I doubt you will have any way to claim it as abandon since it's not on your property.

I went through a similar thing a few years ago. I bought a piece of property from a guy and paid him to clear the land with his JD450 dozer. When he was done he left the dozer parked on my property but off to the side. Since it was there I used it quite a few times for various tasks. I called him a few times for over a year to come and get it. 5 years later it was still there. One day I talked to a lawyer and asked about filing a lien claim on the dozer as abandon property. I was told I had to notify the owner in writing and give him 30 days to remove from property or I would consider it abandon and take ownership. I sent the letter certified mail so he had to sign for it. Less than a week later he came and got it.

oosik · Aug 10, 2014

Hmmmm.... Must be nice to be a contractor and able to leave a piece of equipment "stored" and not use it for five years. When i worked for the government we had the task of removal and crushing of abandoned vehicles. We did this thru a contractor. When an abandoned vehicle was reported to us we were required to notify the registered owner and give 30 days for them to get vehicle. No response - we gave a list of abandoned/notified autos to the contractor and he, again, had to notify the registered owner that he was holding a vehicle of theirs and failing response the vehicle would be crushed after 30 days. It was a complicated process and had many technical & legal requirements. We were often threatened with law suits - you have NO IDEA how many folks claim there valuable vehicle was stolen, that they never received notification and then claim we had them crushed!!! It got to the point that we were taking multiple photos of each vehicle and having to obtain independent appraisals of each vehicle prior to removal & crushing. We were processing & crushing 2500-3000 vehicles per year. This small program was a real thorn & PITA.

Zebrafive · Aug 11, 2014

oosik said:
Hmmmm.... Must be nice to be a contractor and able to leave a piece of equipment "stored" and not use it for five years. When i worked for the government we had the task of removal and crushing of abandoned vehicles. We did this thru a contractor. When an abandoned vehicle was reported to us we were required to notify the registered owner and give 30 days for them to get vehicle. No response - we gave a list of abandoned/notified autos to the contractor and he, again, had to notify the registered owner that he was holding a vehicle of theirs and failing response the vehicle would be crushed after 30 days. It was a complicated process and had many technical & legal requirements. We were often threatened with law suits - you have NO IDEA how many folks claim there valuable vehicle was stolen, that they never received notification and then claim we had them crushed!!! It got to the point that we were taking multiple photos of each vehicle and having to obtain independent appraisals of each vehicle prior to removal & crushing. We were processing & crushing 2500-3000 vehicles per year. This small program was a real thorn & PITA.

On a different note; I got a certified letter about ten years ago from a police department about 150 miles away. They stated they had my truck in impound and would sell it in 30 days if I did not pay their fees. They only quoted my license plate number. I called the detective and told him go ahead and sell it and send me the money minus their fees. He was confused and asked why I would do that for such a new truck. I told him because it was sitting safe in my garage. Impound guy wrote down the license number wrong.

oosik · Aug 11, 2014

In our impound/crushing operation we had all sorts of problems like zebra five has indicated. To further complicate our ops, we took pics of license plate(if still on the vehicle) and VIN numbers. Our ops in this area turned into a venture into the field of high technology. Do any of you have any idea how expensive a camera is that can take pics of VIN numbers, under all conditions, can be!

We had one secretary whose sole job was to research VIN number locations on all vehicles & try, try, try to keep all the required records in order.

This operation was located in Anchorage, AK. You have no idea how often I heard the statement - "Yes, that was my vehicle and I sold it to Joe Smith, so from where I sit, here in Alabama, I really don't see that it concerns me any longer". This entire operation just made me want to puke!!!

Clint S · Aug 11, 2014

My uncle stores some of his equipment at our farm. He purchased a mew tractor and traded in two of his old ones. Needless to say over a year later one of the tractors still sits here. We deal with the owner of the place alot and have mentioned it a few times and he always says he will be over to get it next week and never come. I have a feeling that if we stopped reminding him he would forget it was here . I would hate to ruin the relationship with the guy and again it is not on our way, but we may need to send a letter to him or just uncover it and start using it.

GolfAddict · Aug 11, 2014

Just go get it and start using it. If someday someone actually comes looking for it, you can remind them that 5 years ago they left it parked at your place for safekeeping.

bcp · Aug 11, 2014

You could "find" it, then report is as described here.

CA Codes (civ:2080-2080.10)

Bruce

jaotguy · Aug 11, 2014

sold a boat/ motor and trailer for cash .... gave the new owner all the paperwork ... made photocopies and forgot about it ...

6 months later , I get a call "your boat is sitting on the beach and has to be moved " ... sorry I don't own that boat... sold it to Mr. XXXX a while back ...call him at XXX-XXXX and have him move it ... "OK , we'll call him " click

a week goes by and I get another call ( different person this time ) "Hello, Your boat is .... if you don't move it ,it will be towed and sold "
My response "go ahead , I sold it , have my money and don't care about it "
>>"well it's still registered to you "
"well I have a signed bill of sale with the new owner's name , address and telephone number ... if he didn't register it , not my problem" "you were given that info last time you called ... talk to him... "
>>"well maybe you should pick up the boat and call him to come get it"
" why ? , I've got my money , it's not mine ... pick it up and do what you want with it ... come over and I'll give you a copy of the transaction for your records "...
>> "well remember, we won't call again, we'll just pick it up and sell it "

a couple of days later , a truck with the boat shows up and the driver wants to talk about the impound fees ... hand him a photo copy of the sales agreement and told him to see the "new owner" about them ... it's NOT my boat ...

turns out the new owner only wanted the trailer , and sold the boat and motor the same day to a couple that wanted a boat for water skiing .... the boat ran fine till they hooked up a new fresh tank of gas ( it was a 2 stoke )... then the motor stopped all of a sudden ... they parked it on the beach and couldn't get a trailer of move it , so they left it there ..... they were upset at having to pay the impound fees to get back the boat , only to be told the motor was seized ....

the only thing that covered my *ss was the bill of sale ...

MinnesotaEric · Aug 12, 2014

Meanwhile, in a dusty office four-and-a-half years ago, "Whadda mean you can't remember where you parked it?!"

bumperm · Aug 12, 2014

They are charging you rent by the hour and have put a lien on your property. In another year they'll own your place and then they'll move the skid steer to another property they'd like to have. :c)

bumper

EarPlug · Aug 12, 2014

bcp said:
You could "find" it, then report is as described here.

CA Codes (civ:2080-2080.10)

Bruce

From this Code - 2080.7. The provisions of this article have no application to
things which have been intentionally abandoned by their owner.

jimpen · Aug 12, 2014

Well I live in Ohio. So someone hit my beater F-150's bumper in the side in 2005. The truck was blue-booked at $700 and the replacement bumper and driver side side front fender priced at $900 so the insurance company paid me $750 - $50 to turn it into a salvage title and I kept the truck. So I take it down to the salvage inspection center. It took them 2+ hours and a bunch of sand paper to match all the serial numbers on the frame and engine to the truck's VIN. I just laughed my butt of at all the steps they took make sure nothing was a stolen part. What a waste of time.

I mean who looks at a 15 year old truck as possibly stolen parts?

Jay4200 · Aug 14, 2014

GolfAddict said:
Just go get it and start using it. If someday someone actually comes looking for it, you can remind them that 5 years ago they left it parked at your place for safekeeping.

That what I was going to say. I'd just get it running, take it, and start running it. There's no reason not to. If somebody actually shows up looking for it someday, and believe me they won't, then just give it back...maybe...of you want to.

bumperm · Aug 14, 2014

Under the CA penal code, grand theft is something you'll want to avoid. Unfortunately, "borrowing" something without permission, even if you "fix it up" so you can use it, may be defined as grand theft. But, since the item has apparently been abandoned, though you don't really have any proof of that, it may be that a local DA would decline to charge you, or if he did, a jury may not convict you . . . maybe.

Penal Code 487 PC | California Grand Theft Law

But consider that if you fix it, a reasonable person would conclude you did so in order to facilitate taking the item for your own use . . . without permission. Thin ice I think. Best approach is to make and document an effort to contact the owner and offer to buy the thing. If he declines, then tell him you consider it an eyesore and would like to fix it up and move it to your place at no cost to him. If he declines, then tell him he needs to remove it with all due haste. If he does not perform, then contact the local authorities and pitch a fit.

bumper (ex Oakland PD - 10 years)