NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1156

HOUSE BILL 1139

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REMOVAL, STORAGE AND DISPOSITION OF VEHICLES LEFT ABANDONED UPON MUNICIPAL STREETS AND HIGHWAYS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  Section 160-200 of the North Carolina General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new subsection to be designated as subsection 43, and to read as follows:

"43. The governing body of any municipality may provide by ordinance that whenever any motor vehicle is abandoned on the public streets or public grounds, or is abandoned upon privately owned property, any such vehicle may be removed for safekeeping by or under the direction of a police officer or other official so designated by the governing body to a storage garage or area, provided that no such vehicle shall be so removed from privately owned premises without the written request of the owner, lessee or occupant thereof, unless the same has been declared by the governing body to be a health or safety hazard. Any such ordinance may also provide that the person at whose request such vehicle is removed from privately owned property shall indemnify such municipality against any loss or expense incurred by reason of removal, storage or sale thereof. Written notice of each removal shall be promptly given to the owner of the vehicle. The owner of such vehicle, before obtaining possession thereof, shall pay to the municipality all reasonable costs incident to the removal, storage and locating the owner of the vehicle. Should such owner fail or refuse to pay the costs or should the identity or whereabouts of such owner be unknown and unascertainable after a diligent search has been made, and after notice to him at his last known address and to the holder of any lien of record in the office of the Department of Motor Vehicles against the vehicle, the officer designated by the governing body of the municipality may, after holding the vehicle thirty days and after having the value of such vehicle determined by three disinterested dealers or garagemen, and after twenty days' notice has been given the Department of Motor Vehicles before the date of sale, dispose of the same by public or private sale and the proceeds of the sale shall be forwarded to the treasurer or similar officer of the municipality. The treasurer or similar officer shall pay from the proceeds of sale the costs of removal, storage, investigation as to ownership and sale, and liens in that order. Subject to (b) below, any remaining proceeds shall be deposited to the general fund of the municipality.

(a)        For the purposes of this Section, a vehicle shall be deemed to have been abandoned in the following circumstances:

(1)        It has been left unattended upon a street or highway in violation of a law or ordinance regulating or prohibiting parking for a period of 24 hours; or

(2)        It is left unaccompanied on property owned or operated by the municipality for a period of not less than 48 hours; or

(3)        It is left unaccompanied on any street or highway or on private property for a period of not less than seven days.

(b)        If, after the sale, the ownership thereof at the time of its removal is established satisfactorily to the officer so designated by the governing body by the person claiming such ownership, the owner shall be paid by such officer so much of the proceeds from the sale of such vehicle as remains after paying the costs of removal, storage, investigation as to ownership and sale, and any liens as hereinabove required.

(c)        No person shall be held to answer in any civil or criminal action to any owner or other person legally entitled to the possession of any abandoned, lost or stolen vehicle for disposing of such vehicle as contemplated by this Act."

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 17th day of June, 1965.