"Clams Canino" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi!
Anyway.... for the lack of being able to find the true perpitrator who
abandoned this critter in Chester NH, it appears that the towing company
aided by the Chester Police *may* try to invoke this statute to use us as
the scapegoats for this: ie to extort money for towing and storage and
disposal.

RSA 262:40-c Abandoning a Vehicle; Penalty. - No person shall abandon a
motor vehicle, registered or unregistered, on any way or on any property
other than his or her own without the permission of the owner or lessee of
said property or, in the case of public property, of the police department
having jurisdiction over the property. For the purposes of this section, a
vehicle shall be considered abandoned if it has been left for more than 24
hours without the appropriate permission being given.

Now, I'm in Illinois, so laws may be somewhat different, but unless that
trailer was self propelled with its own engine and was capable of carrying
passengers, I don't believe it qualifies as a "motor vehicle". While
trailers have to be licensed here in Illinois, they don't require insurance.
And in Wisconsin, to the North, they aren't even registered or titled.
Furthermore, the only recourse the towing company would have against you is
to obtain title to the trailer and boat in lieu of storage and towing fees.
Therefore, it may be that the only reason the police are even bothering you
is to give notice that the next step unless you wish to pursue the issue is
to let the towing company proceed. You might call the towing company, tell
them your story and offer to send them a quit claim to any ownership you
might have in the trailer/boat. It might make it easier for them to acquire
title. Be sure however to make it clear that you aren't acknowledging that
you even have any ownership interest anymore. On second thought, I don't
think I would put anything down on paper in the event you haven't been told
the whole story and the trailer was the cause of some kind of personal
injury auto accident.
While living in AZ. I sold a van that the new owner took to California.
Since plates went with the vehicle, I left them on. About 6 months later, I
started getting parking tickets from California. Then California starting
adding big penalties and sending me dire warnings of the consequences. I
had no idea to whom I had sold the van, but then out of the blue, I get a
call from the owner asking me to get a "lost" title from AZ. and send it to
her as she had lost the original. I "forgot" to tell her that California
was looking for her for the parking tickets but after getting the title, I
wrote to California and gave them her address and that was the end of that.


Tom G.