Civil Lawsuit Regarding M109A3

[G-Force]

You know what they say about opinions............

 

[Ferroequinologist]

They're crunchy in milk?

 

[Cleveland Iron]

They're crunchy in milk?

No that's aspirin. Opinions grow soggy and limp.

 

[Jas0n]

Today is supposedly his hearing date according to the first post... I can't believe he got one so soon. Anything civil here is usually schedules for *at least* a year away...

Hope it goes well!

 

[Warthog]

Doubt it will happen today. With Sandy coming in, most places are boarding up.

 

[onegmjack]

Will be waiting for outcome.

 

[olly hondro]

I'm reminded of a sign at a trailer park entrance : NO VEHICLES OVER 2 TONS.

An old feller resident complains : " My Cadillac weighs more than that !!"

 

[CARNAC]

I bet if them neighbors had their houses going under, they'd be all over him asking him to get their stuff to high ground

 

[islandguydon]

The OP stated today Oct 29th his case was heard in Court, I was thinking about it most of the day and am chomping at the bit to find out the outcome.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

I would be shocked if that hearing happened today. I went in to work today (northern Virginia) and it was a ghost town. I've never seen anything like it. All government and most businesses are closed.

Dunno which Bel Air he's in, but either one is almost certainly shut down.


Figure a few weeks more, at the least.

 

[Jas0n]

Oh the irony... I'm wondering if he's having to use his vehicle right now for search & rescue...

 

[pyro1955]

While I believe HOA's are stupid, If the violation he is supposedly violating is written simply as a "Truck" I believe they are going to either have to ban ALL Trucks or allow his. Now they will likely re-define their rule, however he should be grandfathered in for as long as he has his truck. If not, someone is not following the Law, I'm on a planning commission, definitions will get you into hot water if they are not though out carefully. We have had issues that once reviewing our own definitions, we had to back off.

 

[ntxcop]

Taurus454,

I feel your pain, sort of......

I'm going through a similar issue here in Fort Worth, only it's not a home owner's association, but the city I'm dealing with. I chose my house in a neighborhood without a home owner's association.

My story started in late September, when I purchased an M923 5-Ton and parked it in my driveway. The truck fit entirely in my driveway and did not hang over the sidewalk. I spoke to every neighbor that lives on my street and NO ONE had an issue with it. Most of my neighbors thought it was cool, and even liked the fact that it looked a little menacing. They thought the look might help to keep burglars and thieves away from our street.

On October 8, I was working on my truck in the driveway when I observed an unknown person stop and take a photo of me and the truck. I didn't think anything of it because it's happened many times. I've had total strangers come up and ask about the truck and ask to take pics of it. The next day a city code enforcement officer showed up and told me there was a complaint filed with the city about the truck. I asked who complained and he said it was an annonymous complaint, but also said it was worded the exact same as another complaint annonymously filed on the same day, against a different person with a military truck in their driveway. The code enforcement officer said there are some people that just drive around and report stuff to the city, even if they don't live in the neighborhood.

I asked what the problem was and let him know I was pretty familiar with the laws, as I am a 13 year veteran of the police force. He said it was a commercial vehicle and I politely explained that it was NOT a commercial vehicle and was never used for commerce. We went around and around for a while and every title he gave me started with the words "commercial vehicle". I showed him my "Former Military Vehicle" registration and explained that it falls under the "Antique Car" series of license plates here in Texas.

He finally said he'd give me until October 30 to move the vehicle before he'd be back. NOW, I'm up for a fight with my city, but I'm getting married next month and will be gone for 20 days. I don't have the time or funds (at the moment) to fight the city, so I placed my truck in a storage lot for the time being.

I WILL bring it back next year and plan on taking it to court when I get approached by the code inspector, and I'm sure I will. I just have to be VERY cautious with how I approach it, being that I don't want to get in trouble at work. Since this is a city code violation, I technically can be issued a citation and even have a warrant for my arrest issued if I don't comply. The good thing about your case is that it is a civil issue, and not a criminal issue.

I didn't mean to hijack your post, but when I read the threads, I shared your pain.

Please keep us posted about the outcome, and I'll send you all the "good vides" I can.

Good Luck

Keith

 

[AceHigh]

Keith, bet you can win that one! But as you know it will take time and effort. Good luck on it! Oh, congrats on getting married too.

 

[Cleveland Iron]

Keith, I wouldn't call that a hijack. It fits right in. Maybe there should be a separate forum for people who are faced with local or state problems so there is an obvious place to go for people to go to see how the problems get answered.

Just a thought.

 

[jaymcb]

The issue with that is the absurd patchwork of state/zoning/HOA laws, which pretty close to literally make every one different....

Every time I read this it makes me REALLY glad I'm going to close next month on a big parcel of land, in case something like this happens in my snooty neighborhood.

 

[Jas0n]

Keith... Hope you can fight that and win. An antique / FMV shouldn't be considered commercial when it isn't used for commercial purposes... And those are the first two words of the Ordinance... If you can disprove that your vehicle is NOT commercial, the the rest of the verbage is irrelevant.

Idiots like that make me want to buy a tank and park that SOB in my driveway... There is NO WAY you can say a tank is used for commercial purposes... Unless that purpose was merc for hire... "Yeah, I blow up buildings with this bad boy.... Where did you say you worked?"

I'm fighting with a HOA on a totally different matter... I have COMMERCIAL property that existed for over a decade before a subdivision was built. Now after 10 years since the homes were built, one of the neighbors that is adjacent to us (and happens to be the HOA president) is complaining about the NOISE. Problem is, we had a sound engineer come out to measure noise levels 24/7 for a week, and they were always less than the noise level of an A/C unit! I'm not in their HOA so I'm not bound by any of their crazy bylaws... The neighbors are demanding we abide by the City of Houston noise ordinances (instead of the state of Texas)... However, we are NOT IN THE CITY either, so we follow Texas LAW... God these people are flipping idiots... I can't wait until the day comes in court and they get their proverbial asses handed to them on a silver platter. These people build a house next to an existing commercial complex, yet they don't want to hear the slightest peep from anyone?!?!

I've been looking to buy me some train horns for my Deuce... I know they will love that when I go shooting at 7am on Saturday mornings...

 

[saddamsnightmare]

October 31st, 2012.

NXTXCOP:

Good luck with Fort Worth... I hope you win, but it is going to be painful. When I lived in Texas I made sure that there were no HOA's or restrictions on the use of my property, even though it was within the boundaries of Reno,TX, and fortunately the neighbors and the City had no problem with either the deuce and M105 and the Unimog.
Regrettably Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston (And probably San Antonio and Austin) figure they are big enough cities that they have some appearances to keep up, and so it seems that your spying friend has opened a can of worms for you. Had that spy gone behind my house to take the shot on my property, it would have been Castle law time, but your truck was out front, and it looks like it wouldn't fit in the back yard.

Good luck!

 

[o1951]

Taurus454,

I feel your pain, sort of......



city code enforcement officer showed up and told me there was a complaint filed with the city about the truck. I asked who complained and he said it was an annonymous complaint, but also said it was worded the exact same as another complaint annonymously filed on the same day, against a different person with a military truck in their driveway. .

I asked what the problem was and let him know I was pretty familiar with the laws, as I am a 13 year veteran of the police force.

Interesting - if you issue citations and have appeared before the judge for that municipality, the judge is supposed to recluse himself. They then try in another jurisdiction, with a judge you have not appeared before, or county court. Obviously I don't know Texas laws, but in the states around here, ALL commercial vehicles must have COMMERCIAL plates, and commercial insurance. If it does not have commercial plates, then it is not a commercial vehicle.
To challenge it, law enforcement would have to document vehicle is being used for commercial purposes.

 

[rmgill]

All of it comes down to what the definition of the legal term they're trying to apply to you is. If it's undefined and it has an open end as to if you fit in it, then you have room to maneuver. If it's VERY clear and your truck DOES fit in that class then you have a problem.

I myself has this issue and their term was "business vehicle" which, as a hobby antique vehicle not used for a business then it was clearly NOT a business vehicle. They didn't care. I won. It cost me $5000 in legal fees to win but I did, they left with their tails between their legs.