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Under
Nassau County Local Law 8.7 the Nassau County Attorney’s
Office will bring a civil action against you and the owner (if you
borrowed it) of the vehicle you were driving seeking forfeiture of
the vehicle if the arrest was made by a Nassau County Police
Officer. Under the current DWI Laws in Nassau County, any conviction
for an alcohol offense involving driving a motor vehicle permits
the Nassau County Attorney to seek forfeiture of
your vehicle. Although in many cases the vehicle you were driving
will be returned to you shortly after the arrest, you will pay
towing and impound fees and then, you and the owner of vehicle are
prohibited from transferring the ownership in said vehicle without
permission from the Nassau County Attorney’s
Office. A civil action will be brought against both you and the
owner of the vehicle, or any other person or entity that has an
interest in said vehicle; whether it be a finance company, bank,
or leasing company.
This action
is separate and apart from the DWI criminal action, as said action
can be commenced even though the Nassau County DWI criminal action is still
pending. Not only will the motorist who was driving the vehicle
be sued, any person who has an interest in the vehicle is subject
to the law suit.
Although
there are innocent owner defenses available in these
DWI criminal actions, said
DWI defenses are affirmative defenses, which must be legally pleaded
in a Civil Answer. There are also several other defenses that can
be raised. Where other people or entities are involved, they will
also be sued by the Nassau County Attorney. If these
other entities are leasing companies or finances companies, those
entities will move for the vehicle to be returned to them as such
action by the Nassau County Attorney is a cause for default in many finance or
lease agreements. In addition, it is now standard language in
those agreements that you will be required to reimburse the
company for any legal expenses. These fees many times can run into
the thousands of dollars in a Nassau DWI case. In addition to paying substantial legal
fees to your finance company, your credit rating as well as the
owner of the vehicle’s
credit rating will be adversely affected. If these vehicles are
repossessed by the finance or leasing companies, or if a judgment
is entered against you or them, this will negatively appear on
your credit report.
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In view of
the substantial adverse financial consequences in a Nassau DWI
case, it is imperative
that you obtain not only extremely a qualified Nassau County DWI criminal defense
counsel to handle your DWI criminal case, but also a Nassau DWI legal
defense counsel that can also handle the vehicle civil matter.
Our Nassau County DWI legal defense law firm is experienced in handling both the
Nassau DWI criminal case as well as all aspects of the civil work
involving the Nassau County forfeiture of vehicles case. Therefore, if you are sued,
or receive a letter that the Nassau County Attorney is
putting you on notice that your car is subject to forfeiture, we
suggest you call our law office and make an appointment for a
legal consultation on your Nassau DWI defense and vehicle
forfeiture case. |
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