Opinion ID: 2995751
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The City’s Towing and Impoundment Policies

Text: The City of Chicago Municipal Code (the “Code”) authorizes the City to tow and impound motor vehicles in various enumerated circumstances. Lot 6—the only impoundment lot about which the plaintiffs complain—is one of the Cityowned impoundment lots. Between 1995 and 1999, a total of 181,911 vehicles were impounded at Lot 6, which covers five square blocks and has only one entrance. Otherwise, the lot is relatively inaccessible due to high chain-link fences and railroad track berms that surround its borders. The City’s Department of Streets & Sanitation was responsible for the operation and management of Lot 6 until August 1997, when a private company named Environmental Auto Removal, Inc. (“EAR”) was contracted to operate and manage the lot throughout the remainder of the class action period. The City’s policies relating to the towing and impoundment of vehicles are stated in the Code and in a procedural manual created by EAR in 1997. When a vehicle is towed to Lot 6, pound personnel1 conduct a physical examination of the vehicle and complete a Motor Vehicle Inventory Report. The Inventory Report describes the condition of the vehicle, describes the specific location of the vehicle in the lot, identifies when the vehicle was redeemed and by 1 This term or “pound employee” is used throughout this opinion to refer to the City agents that took the actions about which the plaintiffs complain. Before August 1997, the pound personnel were employees of the Department of Streets & Sanitation, and afterwards, they were employees of EAR. No. 01-1941 3 whom, and if the vehicle was never redeemed, describes the manner and date in which the vehicle was disposed. Pound personnel then enter this information into a daily log book and into a computer system known as the “Hot Desk System,” which allows the City to track the location and disposition of all towed vehicles in the City and to respond to inquiries by vehicle owners about the location of their vehicles. For example, the Hot Desk System allows any City pound and several City departments (such as the Police Department and Department of Streets & Sanitation) to determine whether a vehicle is located at Lot 6 by entering the vehicle’s license plate number or VIN number into the system. After a vehicle is towed to Lot 6, pound personnel also access the Secretary of State’s database in order to identify the registered owner of the vehicle. Upon obtaining this information, the City has ten days to send a Notice of Impoundment (“Notice Form”) to the vehicle owner. The Notice Form describes the vehicle, states when it was towed and the reason for the tow, and identifies the lot in which the vehicle is being impounded. The Notice Form also describes the procedures that allow the vehicle owners to retrieve their vehicles after paying the applicable charges or to obtain a hearing to challenge the impoundment. Finally, the Notice Form states that the vehicle will be disposed of if not retrieved by a certain date.2 When a vehicle owner picks up his vehicle from Lot 6, he has the opportunity to request that pound personnel fill out a claim form, allowing the owner to document any alleged damage or theft that occurred while the vehicle was impounded. The pound employee who completes the claim 2 The City disposes of unclaimed vehicles by compacting them and selling them for scrap, by selling the vehicles at an auction, or by retaining the vehicles for City use. 4 No. 01-1941 form is required to verify that the alleged damage accurately reflects the condition of the vehicle and that any property allegedly stolen is not inside of the vehicle.