A New Hampshire case involving a dispute over a towed vehicle in Manchester has been heard by the U.S.A Supreme Court.
The court, which heard the case Wednesday, will decide whether federal trucking laws trump state consumer protection statutes.
It’s the 2nd New Hampshire case in a week heard by the high court. On Tuesday, the justices heard arguments from a generic drug manufacturer, which wants a 21 million judgment against a Plaistow woman dismissed.
The Manchester cases involve Robert Pelkey, who lived at an apartment complex in 2007 when he had to go a hospital for an infection and suffered a heart attack. He left his car parked in his handicapped spot.
The car was towed by Dan City Auto Body when it was not moved during a winter parking ban and then sat in the towing business lot for 2 months. The shop believed it was abandoned.
I immediately called over to Dan City and faxed something to them alert them to, no, Mr. Pelkey did not abandon his vehicle. He was in the hospital, Pelkey lawyer, Brian Shaughnessy, told WMUR-TV.
Storage fees for the car amounted to nearly $3,000. During the impasse, the towing company took ownership of the car and traded it. Pelkey sued under the Consumer shield Act. The case ended up in the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which overturned a superior court finding and ruled in his favor.
The attorney for the tow company appealed, citing federal trucking laws that were passed in the 1980s to unify trucking and tow regulations among all the states.
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