H. B. 2230


(By Delegates Williams, Carper, Phillips, H. White,
Rutledge and Harrison)

[Introduced February 22, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation.]



A Bill to amend and reenact section eight, article twenty-four, chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to notification of the towing, preservation and storage of an abandoned or junked motor vehicle to the owner or lienholder of such motor vehicle.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section eight, article twenty-four, chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ยง17-24-8. Notification to motor vehicle owner and lienholder.

(a) The enforcement agency which takes into custody and possession an abandoned motor vehicle or junked motor vehicle shall, within seven days after taking custody and possession thereof, notify the last known registered owner of such motor vehicle and all lienholders of record that such motor vehicle hasbeen taken into custody and possession, such notification to be by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall contain a description of such motor vehicle, including the year, make, model, manufacturer's serial or identification number or any other number which may have been assigned to such motor vehicle by the commissioner of motor vehicles and any distinguishing marks; set forth the location of the facility where such motor vehicle is being held and the location where such motor vehicle was taken into custody and possession; inform the owner and any lienholders of record of their right to reclaim such motor vehicle within ten days after the date notice was received by the owner or lienholders, upon payment of all towing, preservation and storage charges resulting from taking and placing such motor vehicle into custody and possession, and state that the failure of the owner or lienholders of record to exercise their right to reclaim such motor vehicle within such ten-day period shall be deemed a waiver by the owner and all lienholders of record of all right, title and interest in such motor vehicle and of their consent to the sale or disposal of the abandoned motor vehicle or junked motor vehicle at a public auction or to a licensed salvage yard or demolisher.
(b) If the identity of the last registered owner of the abandoned motor vehicle or junked motor vehicle cannot be determined, or if the certificate of registration or certificate of title contains no address for the owner, or if it isimpossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, notice shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county wherein such motor vehicle was located at the time such enforcement agency took custody and possession thereof, and such notice shall be sufficient to meet all requirements of notice pursuant to this article. Any notice by publication may contain multiple listings of abandoned motor vehicles and junked motor vehicles. The notice shall be published within seven days after such motor vehicle is taken into custody and possession and shall have the same contents required for a notice pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, except that the ten-day period shall run from the date such notice is published as aforesaid.
(c) The consequences and effect of failure to reclaim an abandoned motor vehicle or junked motor vehicle within the ten- day period after notice is received by registered or certified mail or within ten days after the notice is published in a newspaper as aforesaid shall be set forth in such notice.
(d) The provisions of this section notwithstanding, no owner or lienholder of an abandoned motor vehicle or junked motor vehicle taken into custody and possession by an enforcement agency or persons hired by such enforcement agency may be required to pay more than the sum of the first five days of charges for towing, preservation and storage of such motorvehicle resulting from taking and placing such motor vehicle into custody and possession unless during the first five days the enforcement agency or persons hired by the enforcement agency notifies the owner and lienholders of such motor vehicle by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, of the location of the facility where such motor vehicle is being held. When the owner or lienholders of such motor vehicle are notified pursuant to this section of the location of the facility where such motor vehicle is being held, charges incurred on and after the date such notice is deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, in addition to the sum of the first five days of charges for towing, preservation and storage of such motor vehicle resulting from taking and placing such motor vehicle into custody and possession, may be charged the owner or lienholder of such motor vehicle who reclaims the motor vehicle pursuant to this section.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the time that charges for towing, preservation and storage of abandoned or junked motor vehicles may accrue against an owner or lienholder of such motor vehicle to the first five days of such towing, preservation or storage charges unless notice of the location of where such motor vehicle is being held is given to the owner or lienholder of such motor vehicle.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.