Recovering a Towed Car After an Uninsured Driver's Crash

Attorney Answer

You have two separate problems, and the tow lot is the urgent one. A stored vehicle can be sold out from under its owner on a short statutory clock, so handle the release first and the uninsured driver second.

Start with the car. Under § 713.78, a towing-storage operator holding a vehicle has a lien on it for the authorized recovery, towing and storage fees, and the statute lets an unclaimed vehicle be sold. The notice the operator must send says the vehicle "may be sold free of all prior liens 35 days after the vehicle or vessel is stored by the lienor if the vehicle or vessel is an older model or 57 days after the vehicle or vessel is stored by the lienor if the vehicle or vessel is a newer model." An older model there is more than three model years old. That clock is running now.

The statute gives you two routes. Section 713.78(5)(a) lets the registered owner, an insurer or another lienholder go to court in the county where the vehicle is stored to decide whether it was wrongfully taken or withheld or whether the fees were wrongfully charged. And under (5)(b), at any time before a sale, the vehicle can be released by posting a bond or other adequate security with the clerk of court equal to the accrued charges. The statute adds a line worth knowing: those parties "may not be required to initiate judicial proceedings in order to post the bond in the registry of the court and are not required to use a particular form for posting the bond unless the clerk provides such form." You pay the disputed charges into court instead of to the lot, and the car comes back while the dispute continues.

Your missing title is a real obstacle, not a fatal one — the statute speaks of registered owners, so you will have to establish the car is yours from a bill of sale, prior registration, the VIN and restoration receipts. Getting title issued for a car you are restoring runs through the state motor vehicle agency, which is outside what this page can walk you through.

Now the driver. Florida does not require most private drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage at all. Section 324.022(1) requires an owner or operator to "establish and maintain the ability to respond in damages for liability on account of accidents arising out of the use of the motor vehicle in the amount of $10,000 because of damage to, or destruction of, property of others in any one crash," alongside the personal injury protection coverage Florida separately requires. The familiar 10/20/10 figures are the post-crash proof-of-financial-responsibility numbers, which is why an at-fault driver can be genuinely uninsured and still legal. If that driver has no coverage and no assets, a judgment may be worth little however clear the fault — which makes your own policy the more realistic source. Section 627.727(1) requires uninsured motorist coverage unless it was rejected: "However, the coverage required under this section is not applicable when, or to the extent that, an insured named in the policy makes a written rejection of the coverage on behalf of all insureds under the policy." Which of your coverages reaches the vehicle itself and the storage charges depends on what you bought, so ask your insurer directly.

What you can do

1. Contact the storage lot today and get, in writing, the date it took possession, the daily rate, and the total owed.

2. Gather everything that proves the car is yours — bill of sale, prior registration, VIN photographs, parts receipts.

3. Get the crash report number from the agency that responded, and the other driver's name and address as recorded there.

4. Report the claim to your own insurer and ask which of your coverages apply to the vehicle and to storage.

5. Ask a Florida attorney now about the § 713.78 release route and about proving ownership without a title. Posting a bond in the registry of the court is a legal step to take with advice, and the sale clock is short.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The § 713.78 sale clock — 35 days for an older model, 57 for a newer one, from the date of storage — can cost you the car outright. Your damages claim against the driver runs on a separate clock keyed to the crash date: for a claim accruing before March 24, 2023, the former four-year period under § 95.11 applied; on or after that date, § 95.11(5)(a) sets two years. Have a Florida attorney confirm both against your actual dates.