Vehicle owner gets car back with "innocent owner" defense after son pleads guilty to DWI
Defendant, Roberta Gazzola’s, son, Christopher, was arrested and charged with Driving While Impaired. He was driving his mother’s car without her permission at the time. According to Nassau County Administrative Code § 8-7.0(g)(4)(a), Christopher was given a “Vehicle Seizure Notice” at the time of his arrest. The County commenced this action seeking civil forfeiture of the vehicle against the Gazzolas and Daimler-Chrysler, the company Roberta purchased the vehicle from. Daimler-Chrysler then filed a cross-claim seeking to repossess the vehicle based on an “innocent lienholder” defense. The Gazzolas then cross-moved for dismissal, claiming to be an “innocent owner”.
The County, though able to establish that the car was used in violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192, failed to establish that Ms. Gazzola gave Christopher permission to use her car, that she had any reason to believe that he would do so or that he would do so in an illegal fashion. The County recognizes that Daimler-Chrysler had a superior right to the vehicle but not over defendant since the circumstances that would have given Daimler-Chrysler the right the repossess the vehicle from Ms. Gazzola were not demonstrated here.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the complaint and all cross-claims. Roberta Gazzola’s motion was granted and it was declared that neither the County nor Daimler-Chrysler had rights superior to her on her vehicle.
