Unfortunately, some owners are thrust into the situation not because a stranger steals their vehicle, but because someone they know does. A study by insurance website Compare The Market, cited by KGAB AM, found that, nationally, about a third of cars are stolen by someone the owner knows — and knows well. But that doesn’t make it any less illegal.
Let’s pretend, for example, that James went on an extended six-week vacation, leaving his motorcycle in the shared parking lot of his Texas apartment. Unfortunately, his neighbor, Bill, decided the motorcycle must be abandoned, so Bill moved it to a friend’s garage and then sold it to an unsuspecting buyer, lying that the key had been lost.
Now James is back. Another neighbor filled him in on what Bill did, and James filed a police report. He also confronted Bill, who admitted to what he’d done and provided the buyer’s contact details. Now, James needs to know what to do next.
The motorcycle wasn’t abandoned
Unfortunately for Bill, James’ motorcycle was definitely not deemed abandoned property — and even if it was, that wouldn’t give Bill a legal right to take it and sell it.
Texas Transportation Code § 683.002 has a specific definition of an “abandoned” motor vehicle. Typically, a vehicle is abandoned if any one of the following is true:
- The vehicle is inoperable, over five years old, and left unattended on public property for over 48 hours.
- It has been illegally located on public property for over 48 hours.
- It has remained on private property for over 48 hours without the consent of the property owner or person in charge of the property.
- It has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a county, state, or federal highway for over 48 hours.
- It has been left unattended for over 24 hours on the right-of-way of a turnpike or controlled access highway.
Leaving a motorcycle in a shared parking lot is not on the list. And even if a vehicle is abandoned, Texas law establishes rules for how it should be handled. And, not unsurprisingly, those rules don’t give a random neighbor the legal authority to sell the vehicle for a profit.
And it’s not just Texas, either. While the laws vary by state, there is no state where going on vacation and leaving your car in your parking lot is going to be considered abandoned property.
Dirt Legal has a state-by-state guide to abandoned vehicle laws you can consult to find out the details. In general, though, these laws typically require the vehicle to have been left on public property, or on property someone else owns, without permission for an extended time.
And every state has a process for the removal of abandoned cars. In Georgia, for example, the law makes clear businesses have to go “through a process to ensure the rights of the vehicle owners, lienholders, and security interest holders are protected.”
A car is private property, and most of America has strong property protection rights.
