{"id":3445,"date":"2009-12-13T13:16:49","date_gmt":"2009-10-17T09:20:15","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-17T09:20:15","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=3445","title":{"rendered":"CO: Towing business closely regulated under Burger<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

A towing company was closely regulated under Burger<\/a> under Colorado law. A complaint was received for the towing companies towing a car without consent and holding it for ransom. The PUC investigated and sought towing records with authorization for the tow, but the towing company did not respond. The request for records within an enforcement proceeding was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Eddie’s Leaf Spring Shop & Towing LLC v. Colo. PUC<\/a>, 218 P.3d 326 (Colo. 2009):<\/p>\n

Next, we consider whether the PUC’s regulatory scheme satisfies the three Burger criteria necessary to make reasonable warrantless inspections. First, the state has a substantial government interest in protecting the public from the unauthorized taking of valuable personal property. The Colorado General Assembly has explicitly declared that: “the commission shall issue a permit to a towing carrier and may attach to such permit … such restrictions, terms and conditions … as are reasonably deemed necessary for the protection of the property of the public.” \u00a7 40-13-106. Second, warrantless inspections are necessary to further the regulatory scheme. To respond promptly to stranded motorists and to protect their vehicles and personal property, the PUC enforcement personnel must have immediate access to information from carriers about who authorized the tow and where the vehicle is stored. Third, the PUC’s inspection program provides a constitutionally adequate substitute for a warrant in terms of the certainty and regularity of its application. The PUC rules set clear bounds for when towing carriers must respond to records requests. Under Rule 6005(c), entities providing transportation by motor vehicle must furnish time-sensitive documents (including towing authorizations) upon demand, while they must provide other, less urgent business records within two to ten days after the request. 3 Based on the regulatory scheme, the towing carrier is necessarily aware that it must always carry towing authorizations when it takes possession of another’s valuable property. See Exotic Coins, Inc. v. Beacom, 699 P.2d 930, 942 (Colo. 1985) (holding that an act, which required purchasers of valuable articles to maintain a register and to make weekly reports on the register’s contents, made the buyer “necessarily aware” that the register of transactions will be subject to periodic inspections). Thus, we conclude that non-consensual towing is a closely regulated industry and that the state’s regulations meet the requirements of a reasonable and constitutional warrantless administrative search.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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