Towed car dispute leads to partial win for Coquitlam man in small claims court

A Coquitlam man who claimed his car and personal belongings were wrongfully withheld after a tow has won a partial victory before the Civil Resolution Tribunal – but won’t be getting his vehicle back.

In a decision issued Oct. 24, Vice Chair Christopher Rivers dismissed most of the claims brought by Trevor Michael Lloyd Ruf against Benjamin Towing Corp., ruling the Port Coquitlam company was entitled to keep his car until towing and storage fees were paid. 

However, the tribunal ordered the company to release Ruf’s personal items that were inside the vehicle within 60 days.

According to the decision, Ruf was arrested on Oct. 15, 2023, while eating in his car at the A&W in Coquitlam’s Pinetree Village. His vehicle was towed three days later on the instructions of the parking lot operator, Impark, and stored at Benjamin Towing’s impound lot.

Ruf remained in custody until mid-November and said that after his release, he struggled to locate his car, calling numerous towing companies and eventually reporting it stolen. He finally learned in December that Benjamin Towing had the vehicle, but by then the bill had grown to more than $3,000.

The company said it agreed to discount the charges to $2,000, but Ruf refused to pay. Instead, he allegedly moved the car to block the lot’s driveway and called the police. He left without the car or his belongings

The CRT found that under the Motor Vehicle Act, the company had a lawful excuse to retain Ruf’s vehicle until the towing and storage fees were paid. 

The tribunal ruled that when a car is parked on private property and towed at the owner’s expense, a contractual relationship is automatically formed between the vehicle owner and the towing company – even if the owner never directly authorized the tow.

Because Ruf “undisputedly did not pay anything” toward the fees, the tribunal concluded that Benjamin Towing “had a lawful excuse not to release Mr. Ruf’s car and therefore did not wrongfully withhold personal property.

However, the CRT reached a different conclusion on Ruf’s tools and other personal belongings stored in the vehicle. He said Benjamin Towing had provided “no evidence” of any contractual right to keep those goods and therefore needed to release them.

The company was ordered to allow Ruf to retrieve his tools and other items from the car within 60 days. After that, the towing firm may treat the goods as abandoned and dispose of them.

Neither party was awarded costs, as no fees or expenses were claimed in the case.