§ 19-54. Release of impounded vehicles.  


Latest version.
  • (a)

    Impounded motor vehicles shall be released by the police department or the operator of the police department's vehicle storage facility, after payment is made of any towing or storage charges or fees, only upon receipt of one (1) of the following:

    (1)

    Submission of certificate of title or other satisfactory proof that the person applying for the release is the owner of the vehicle.

    (2)

    Submission of the certificate of title and of a current power of attorney duly executed by the owner requesting release to the person named therein and presenting same.

    (3)

    Release of impounded vehicle to lienholder. A motor vehicle which has not been claimed by the owner after ten (10) days of impoundment (including the day the vehicle arrived at the storage facility) and after the mortgage note is thirty (30) days delinquent, shall be released to the claimant identifying himself as lienholder or agent of the lienholder named on the certificate of title upon the submission of a surety bond from a city licensed corporate surety firm which shall indemnify, save and hold harmless the city from all damage, liability, costs, attorney's fees, expenses, actions, judgments and special proceedings that may arise, accrue or be brought against the city by reason of releasing the vehicle to the bonded vehicle claimant, up to the amount of the bond, and upon payment of towing charges and storage fees.

    The surety bond shall be submitted at the police department vehicle storage facility and shall be in either the original mortgage amount of the vehicle or an amount equal to the current National Automobile Dealers Association book value plus ten (10) percent.

    In the alternative, the lienholder may submit a non-vehicle-specific surety bond in the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or more, against which the lienholder may repossess a number of vehicles with a cumulative value not exceeding ninety (90) percent of the bond amount.

    A separate indemnification agreement shall be signed by the vehicle claimant who appears at the vehicle storage facility to take possession of the vehicle, and said claimant shall identify himself or herself as the lienholder or the lienholder's agent, and shall state that said claimant holds the City of San Antonio harmless and fully indemnified against any claims of loss of property which may arise out of the release of the vehicle.

    The surety bond shall include a statement that:

    1.

    The title owner is in default of his mortgage contract by virtue of being delinquent in a scheduled payment by at least thirty (30) days, that the person named in the bond is the lienholder or the legal agent of the lienholder being bonded, that the named lienholder has paramount right of possession of the vehicle, and is legally entitled to repossess same, or

    2.

    That the title owner is in default of his mortgage contract by virtue of the seizure of the mortgaged vehicle by peace officers who have identified it as contraband and subject to confiscation under Chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thus entitling the lienholder to exercise a contractual right of repossession to preserve the mortgage collateral.

    The signatory of the indemnification agreement and the surety bond, if signing as agent for a principal or as agent for or officer of a corporation, shall certify in writing and under oath before a notary public that he or she has full authority to execute the document on behalf of the corporation.

    (b)

    Nothing herein shall prevent the release of any motor vehicle by any person upon the service of an order or judgment directing such release by a court of competent jurisdiction.

    (c)

    The terms "motor vehicle," "lien," "owner," "mortgagee," "mortgagor," and "certificate of title" used herein shall have the same meanings as defined in Vernon's Ann. Civ. St. art. 6687-1.

(Code 1959, § 38-104; Ord. No. 32724, 8-27-64; Ord. No. 71862, § 1, 7-12-90; Ord. No. 2008-03-13-0202, § 1, 3-13-08)