08-08-08 George Harvey, et al. v. Township of Deptford
A-3187-06T1
Plaintiff, a towing operator, sought mandamus against the
defendant municipality, compelling the public auction or removal
of vehicles he had towed and stored at the municipality's
request. He also sought monetary damages caused by the
municipality's failure to conduct public auctions within the
time limits contained in N.J.S.A. 39:10-A-1 to -7, and the
storage of the towed vehicles on his property. The trial judge
granted plaintiff partial summary judgment on liability, but
limited his monetary damages to $400 per vehicle, finding
N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.50 applicable to limit the municipality's
exposure.
We affirmed. We conclude that N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.50
expressly limits the amount that a towing operator may recover
against the municipality for the storage of vehicles towed at
the municipality's request. We further conclude that plaintiff
has no express or implied cause of action for monetary damages
based upon the municipality's violation of the time limits set
forth in N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1 to -7, and has no claim for monetary
damages as a corollary to his mandamus action.
