§ 511-C Seizure and forfeiture of vehicles used in the unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle under certain circumstances
VTL § 511-C
§ 511-c. Seizure and forfeiture of vehicles used in the unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle under certain circumstances.
1.For purposes of this section:
(a)The term "owner" shall mean an owner as defined in section one hundred twenty-eight and in subdivision three of section three hundred eighty-eight of this chapter.
(b)The term "security interest" shall mean a security interest as defined in subdivision (k) of section two thousand one hundred one of this chapter.
(c)The term "termination of the criminal proceeding" shall mean the earliest of (i) thirty-one days following the imposition of sentence; or (ii) the date of acquittal of a person arrested for an offense; or (iii) where leave to file new charges or to resubmit the case to a new grand jury is required and has not been granted, thirty-one days following the dismissal of the last accusatory instrument filed in the case, or, if applicable, upon expiration of the time granted by the court or permitted by statute for filing new charges or resubmitting the case to a new grand jury; or (iv) where leave to file new charges or to resubmit the case to a new grand jury is not required, thirty-one days following the dismissal of the last accusatory instrument filed in the case, or, if applicable, upon expiration of the time granted by the court or permitted by statute for filing new charges or resubmitting the case to a new grand jury; or (v) six months from the issuance of an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal" order pursuant to section 170.55 of the criminal procedure law, where the case is not restored to the court's calendar within the applicable six-month period; or (vi) the date when, prior to the filing of an accusatory instrument against a person arrested for an offense, the prosecuting authority elects not to prosecute such person.
2.Any motor vehicle which has been or is being used in violation of paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section five hundred eleven of this article may be seized by any peace officer, acting pursuant to his or her special duties, or police officer, and forfeited as hereinafter provided in this section.
3.A vehicle may be seized upon service of a notice of violation upon the owner or operator of a vehicle. The seized motor vehicle shall be delivered by the officer having made the seizure to the custody of the district attorney of the county wherein the seizure was made, except that in the cities of New York, Yonkers, Rochester and Buffalo the seized motor vehicle shall be delivered to the custody of the police department of such cities and such motor vehicle seized by a member or members of the state police shall be delivered to the custody of the superintendent of state police, together with a report of all the facts and circumstances of the seizure. Within one business day after the seizure, notice of such violation and a copy of the notice of violation shall be mailed to the owner of such vehicle at the address for such owner set forth in the records maintained by the department of motor vehicles or, for vehicles not registered in New York state, such equivalent record in such state of registration.
4.
5.A motor vehicle seized pursuant to this section shall be released when:
(ii)The person seeking to claim the motor vehicle has furnished satisfactory evidence of registration and financial security and, if the person was the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation of paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section five hundred eleven of this article, satisfactory evidence of payment of any fines or penalties imposed in connection therewith; and
(iii)Payment has been made for the reasonable costs of removal and storage of the motor vehicle. The owner of the motor vehicle shall be responsible for such payment provided, however, that if he or she was not the operator at the time of the offense, such person shall have a cause of action against such operator to recover such costs. Payment prior to release of the motor vehicle shall not be required in cases where the seized motor vehicle was stolen or rented or leased pursuant to a written agreement for a period of thirty days or less, however the operator of such a motor vehicle shall be liable for the costs of removal and storage of the motor vehicle to any entity rendering such service; and
(iv)If the motor vehicle is held as evidence, the person seeking to claim the motor vehicle has presented a release from the prosecuting authority providing that the motor vehicle is not needed as evidence.
6.Where a demand for the return of a motor vehicle is not made within ninety days after the termination of the criminal proceeding founded upon the charge of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, such motor vehicle shall be deemed to be abandoned. Such vehicle shall be disposed of by the county, cities of New York, Yonkers, Rochester or Buffalo or the state, as applicable, in accordance with section twelve hundred twenty-four of this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.
7.Notice of the institution of the forfeiture proceeding shall be served:
8.Any owner who receives notice of the institution of a forfeiture action who claims an interest in the motor vehicle subject to forfeiture shall assert a claim for the recovery of the motor vehicle or satisfaction of the owner's interest in such motor vehicle by intervening in the forfeiture action in accordance with subdivision (a) of section one thousand twelve of the civil practice law and rules. Any person with a security interest in such vehicle who receives notice of the institution of the forfeiture action shall assert a claim for the satisfaction of such person's security interest in such vehicle by intervening in the forfeiture action in accordance with subdivision (a) of section one thousand twelve of the civil practice law and rules. If the action relates to a vehicle in which a person holding a security interest has intervened pursuant to this subdivision, the burden shall be upon the designated official to prove by clear and convincing evidence that such intervenor knew that such vehicle was or would be used for the commission of a violation of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision three of section five hundred eleven of the vehicle and traffic law and either (a) knowingly and unlawfully benefitted from such conduct or (b) voluntarily agreed to the use of the vehicle for the commission of such violation by consent freely given. For purposes of this subdivision, such intervenor knowingly and unlawfully benefited from the commission of such violation when he or she derived in exchange for permitting the use of such vehicle by a person or persons committing such specified violation a substantial benefit that would otherwise not have accrued as a result of the lawful use of such vehicle. "Benefit" means benefit as defined in subdivision seventeen of section 10.00 of the penal law.
9.No motor vehicle shall be forfeited under this section to the extent of the interest of a person who claims an interest in the motor vehicle, where such person pleads and proves that:
10.The court in which a forfeiture action is pending may dismiss said action in the interests of justice upon its own motion or upon an application as provided for herein.
(d)The court may grant the relief provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision if it finds that such relief is warranted by the existence of some compelling factor, consideration or circumstance demonstrating that forfeiture of the property or any part thereof, would not serve the ends of justice. Among the factors, considerations and circumstances the court may consider, among others, are:
(i)the seriousness and circumstances of the crime to which the property is connected relative to the impact of forfeiture of property upon the person who committed the crime; or
(e)The court must issue a written decision stating the basis for an order issued pursuant to this subdivision.
11.The district attorney, police department or superintendent of state police having custody of the seized motor vehicle, after such judicial determination of forfeiture, shall, by a public notice of at least twenty days, sell such forfeited motor vehicle at public sale. The net proceeds of any such sale, after deduction of the lawful expenses incurred, shall be paid into the general fund of the county wherein the seizure was made, provided, however, that the net proceeds of the sale of a motor vehicle seized in the cities of New York, Yonkers, Rochester and Buffalo shall be paid into the respective general funds of such cities, and provided further that the net proceeds of the sale of a motor vehicle seized by the state police shall be paid into the state police seized assets account.
12.In any action commenced pursuant to this section, where the court awards a sum of money to one or more persons in satisfaction of such person's or persons' interest or interests in the forfeited motor vehicle, the total amount awarded to satisfy such interest or interests shall not exceed the amount of the net proceeds of the sale of the forfeited motor vehicle, after deduction of the lawful expenses incurred by the county, cities of New York, Yonkers, Rochester or Buffalo or the state, as applicable, and storage of the motor vehicle between the time of seizure and the date of sale.
13.At any time within two years after the seizure, any person claiming an interest in a motor vehicle which has been forfeited pursuant to this section who was not sent notice of the commencement of the forfeiture action pursuant to subdivision seven of this section, or who did not otherwise receive actual notice of the forfeiture action, may assert in an action commenced before the justice of the supreme court before whom the forfeiture action was held such claim as could have been asserted in the forfeiture action pursuant to this section. The court may grant the relief sought upon such terms and conditions as it deems reasonable and just if the person claiming an interest in the motor vehicle establishes that he or she was not sent notice of the commencement of the forfeiture action and was without actual knowledge of the forfeiture action, and establishes either of the affirmative defenses set forth in subdivision nine of this section.
14.No action under this section for wrongful seizure shall be instituted unless such action is commenced within two years after the time when the motor vehicle was seized.
