Last July, Arlene Martsolf got a letter from the city saying her car had been towed and was being held in storage at a cost of about $35 a day. She paid no attention to the letter. “It’s not my car,” she says. “It’s my boyfriend’s car–my ex-boyfriend’s car. I assumed the city wouldn’t press me for the money.”
About two months after they bought the car Martsolf and Bill split up. On June 28, 2001, she says, she signed over the car and handwrote a bill of sale that reads, “I, Arlene Martsolf, give my interest in this automobile to [Bill]. There are no liens on this automobile. Car is handed over as is. I give up all rights to this automobile.” The note is signed by Martsolf and Bill. “I didn’t take any money from him for the car,” says Martsolf. “I just gave it to him. I don’t care about the car. Like I said, I don’t drive. It was just like, take the car, and I’ll get on with my life.”
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A week later the city’s Department of Revenue sent Martsolf a letter informing her that “a motor vehicle titled in your name was impounded” under section 7-24-226 of the municipal code, which covers “impoundment for Driving while Intoxicated.” The letter went on to say that Martsolf could “contest this charge by filing a written request for a hearing before the Department of Administrative Hearings within 30 days.” It also said, “Only the owner of record may request a hearing.”
Along with the letter came a form she could use if she wanted to contest the fines. She filled it out and sent it back, asking the city not to hold her liable because she was “no longer the owner of the vehicle.”
The hearing officer denied her request for an appeal and ordered her to pay the fines, which by then had grown to $2,245. “I didn’t know what to do,” says Martsolf. “I couldn’t afford to pay the fine. So we asked the people who work at the desk at the hearing office, What do we do? And they told us that if I paid the $500 violation fee–the original fine for driving while intoxicated–then I wouldn’t have to pay the storage fee. We actually called to the office at Superior twice to confirm this. We were told, ‘You can wipe the slate clean for $500.’”
On October 23 Martsolf sent the city a check for $500, along with a handwritten note that begins, “Dear Department of Administrative Hearings: I have enclosed a check in the amount of five hundred dollars for the violation fee. I was told if you kept the car the towing and storage fee would be waived; therefore, the car is yours to keep.” She also wrote a postscript: “Please send a verification letter stating that I made the payment in full.”
Arredondo says Martsolf is responsible for the fees and fines because her name is still on the title. She explains that even though Martsolf has a handwritten bill of sale, it’s not notarized, so there’s no proof it’s authentic. “According to our records, she’s still listed as the co-owner with the secretary of state,” says Arredondo. “That’s the official record, so that’s what we have to go on.”
