§1728. Disposal of a stored motor vehicle

            A.(1) After forty-five days from the original date of storage or adjusted storage date, if applicable, the storage or parking facility owner shall send a final notice by certified mail, electronic return receipt, which shall comply with the notice requirements of R.S. 32:1720 to the stored vehicle's owner and to the holder of any lien on the stored vehicle. This notice shall apply to any vehicle that is five years old or newer and shall apply only to a vehicle that was a non-consensual tow or non-consensual storage as defined in R.S. 32:1713. Any notice relating to a consensual tow or consensual storage shall require a certificate of mailing as evidence the notice was sent.

            (2) After forty-five days from the original date of storage or adjusted storage date, if applicable, the storage or parking facility owner shall send a final notice by mail with a certificate of mailing which shall comply with the notice requirements of R.S. 32:1720 to the stored vehicle's owner and to the holder of any lien on the stored vehicle. This notice shall apply to any vehicle that is over five years old.

            (3) The final notice shall inform the stored vehicle's owner that unless he pays all outstanding charges and claims the vehicle or makes arrangements with the storage or parking facility owner for the continued storage of the vehicle, the storage or parking facility owner may apply for a permit to sell or permit to dismantle from the department after fifteen days from the date the final notice is mailed to the stored vehicle's owner. The notice shall also inform the stored vehicle's owner of the provisions in R.S. 32:1730 and that they may be turned over to collections for failure to pay outstanding charges and claims. The towing, storage, or parking facility shall not charge for storage past the ninetieth day from the original date of storage, or the adjusted storage date, if applicable. The storage or parking facility owner may continue to charge storage up to the ninetieth day, or until the permit to sell has been issued, if the application for the permit to sell was submitted prior to the ninetieth day from the original date of storage or the adjusted storage date, if applicable.

            B, C. Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 1097, §2.

            D. Prior to issuance of the permit to sell or permit to dismantle, the storage or parking facility owner shall provide the department with the following evidence:

            (1) A copy of the original report of the stored vehicle including owner and lienholder information furnished by the department or its authorized agent.

            (2) A copy of the first and final notices sent to the owner of the stored vehicle and to the holder of any lien on the stored vehicle.

            (3) The original certificate of mailing for the first notice and the certified mail, electronic return receipt, if applicable, for the final notice sent to the stored vehicle's owner and to the holder of any lien on the stored vehicle and the returned unopened envelope, if applicable, for the first and final notices with postal markings indicating the post office's attempt to deliver the notices. If these items cannot be furnished, other documented proof that the storage or parking facility owner sent notice to the stored vehicle's owner shall be submitted to the department.

            (4) An appraisal based on the most recent National Automobile Dealers Association Guide. An original appraisal prepared by an independent appraiser, which shall contain the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number, shall be acceptable for vehicles not valued by the National Automobile Dealers Association Guide.

            (5) A photograph of the vehicle in its current condition.

            (6) If the department requires an affidavit of physical inspection of the stored vehicle, it shall be completed by a Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) certified law enforcement officer, who has been trained and certified by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, to inspect vehicles to be crushed or dismantled.

            E. Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 1097, §2.

            F. Repealed by Acts 1993, No. 412, §2.

            Acts 1989, No. 522, §1; Acts 1992, No. 221, §1; Acts 1993, No. 412, §2; Acts 2001, No. 1097, §§1 and 2; Acts 2010, No. 839, §1; Acts 2012, No. 806, §1; Acts 2014, No. 19, §1; Acts 2021, No. 206, §1, eff. June 11, 2021.