Apparently this was updated, if I'm reading the legislative bill codes correctly, in '99 to raise one law's cutoff from $100 to $500 and another's to $1500.
As with all such things, it's a painful thing to read.
(e) Within forty-eight hours of the time that a motor vehicle is taken into custody and stored pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the affixing department or parking authority shall give written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner and any lienholders of such motor vehicle, if such motor vehicle appears on the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles. The notice shall state: (1) That the motor vehicle has been taken into custody and stored, (2) the location of storage of the motor vehicle, (3) that, unless title has already vested in the municipality pursuant to subsection (d) of this section*, such motor vehicle may be sold after (A) fifteen days if the market value of such motor vehicle does not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars, or (B) forty-five days if the value of such motor vehicle exceeds one thousand five hundred dollars, and (4) that the owner has a right to contest the validity of such taking by application, on a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, to the hearing officer named in such notice within ten days from the date of such notice. Such application forms shall be made readily available to the public at all offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles, parking authorities authorized under an ordinance adopted pursuant to section 7-204a to enforce parking regulations and state and local police departments.
*(d) states that if the vehicle's abandoned--for example, no valid plate registration--and worth $500 or less, then 48 hours after impounding the car's to be relicensed and turned over for recycling.
I have no idea what the consequences of contesting the sale would be or how lenient the hearing officer would be. Or if the example in the ProPub article tried that. I'd think that would be an important thing--if she didn't try it, she should have; if she did try it and it was palpably unfair, there's something else to ding CT for; as it is, it's a gap.
Then again, with storage charges and such, $1500 would be less than the cost of paying to have the car released. At that point it would be foolish (or sentimental) to insist on paying more for a car not worth that amount. And wait 30 days, you're looking at probably $3k in fees, so I don't know what good raising the lower boundary would be.
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