Abatement of Nuisance Vehicles Engaged in Street Races or Reckless Driving Exhibition.

Dallas City Code ch. 28, art. XIX, div. 3

in effect

Dallas City Code § 28-206 DECLARATION AND ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE VEHICLES.

SEC. 28-206. DECLARATION AND ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE VEHICLES. A motor vehicle shall be declared a nuisance and abated subject to this division if: (1) the motor vehicle is used in a street race or exhibition of reckless driving; (2) the driver or passenger is one of the following: (A) the registered owner of the vehicle at the time of the violation; (B) a member of the registered owner's immediate family at the time of the violation; or (C) lives at the same address as the registered owner at the time of the violation; and (3) the driver or passenger described in Paragraph (2) has: (A) used the motor vehicle in a previous incident for a street race or reckless driving exhibition; (B) used the motor vehicle in a street race or reckless driving exhibition that resulted in property damage or bodily injury to another; (C) a previous misdemeanor conviction for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer pursuant to Section 545.421 of the Texas Transportation Code; (D) a previous misdemeanor conviction for reckless driving pursuant to Section 545.401 of the Texas Transportation Code; or (E) a previous misdemeanor or felony conviction for racing on highway pursuant to Section 545.420 of the Texas Transportation Code. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-207 NOTICE OF NUISANCE AND ABATEMENT TO LEGAL AND REGISTERED OWNERS AND LIENHOLDERS.

SEC. 28-207. NOTICE OF NUISANCE AND ABATEMENT TO LEGAL AND REGISTERED OWNERS AND LIENHOLDERS. (a) In general. When a street racing or reckless driving exhibition violation occurs causing a vehicle to be declared a nuisance and subject to abatement under this division, the chief of police shall ascertain from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles the names and addresses of all legal and registered owners and any lienholder of record of that vehicle. (b) Notice of nuisance and abatement. The chief of police shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to all legal and registered owners and any lienholder of record of the vehicle proposed for abatement. The notice shall be sent to the addresses obtained from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. (c) Personal service of notice of nuisance and abatement. If a legal or registered owner or lienholder of record was personally served a notice at the time of the violation which caused a vehicle to be subject to abatement under this division, and the notice contains all the information required to be provided by this section, no further notice is required to be sent to that owner. However, a notice must still be sent to any other current legal or registered owners or lienholders of record of the vehicle, if any. (d) Contents of the notice. The notice must contain the following: (1) Statement informing legal and registered owners and any lienholder of record of the vehicle that the vehicle will be declared a nuisance and abated by the city subject to Chapter 28, Article XIX, Division 2 of the Dallas City Code, and will be sold or otherwise disposed of pursuant to this division; (2) A description of the vehicle including, if available, the year, make, model, license plate number, and vehicle identification number; (3) Instructions for filing a response opposing the nuisance and abatement with the city attorney and the time limits for filing the response. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-208 ADMINISTRATIVE ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE.

SEC. 28-208. ADMINISTRATIVE ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE. (a) If no responses opposing the nuisance and abatement are filed and served within 15 days of the mailing of the notice pursuant to Section 28-207(b) or within five days of personal service of the notice pursuant to Section 28-207(c), the city attorney shall submit a motion for default judgment for the nuisance and abatement of the vehicle by the city. (b) A copy of the motion and order of the nuisance and abatement must be provided on written request to any person informed of the pending abatement pursuant to Section 28-207. (c) A response opposing the abatement that is filed and later withdrawn by the claimant will be deemed to not have been filed. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-209 JUDICIAL ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE PROCEEDINGS.

SEC. 28-209. JUDICIAL ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE PROCEEDINGS. (a) If a response opposing abatement is timely filed and served with the city attorney, then the city attorney shall file a petition for nuisance and abatement with the appropriate court within 10 days of the receipt of the response. (b) The city attorney shall request a hearing date and send notice to the legal or registered owner and any lienholder of record. (c) The court filing fee established by the court, not to exceed $50, shall be paid by the claimant made payable to the city, but shall be reimbursed by the city if the claimant prevails. (d) The filing of a response opposing abatement within the time limit specified in this section is considered a jurisdictional prerequisite for initiating a nuisance and abatement proceeding. A proceeding in the civil case is a limited civil case. The city attorney shall have the burden of proof that the vehicle constituted a nuisance pursuant to this chapter by a preponderance of the evidence. All questions that may arise must be decided by the court and all other proceedings must be conducted as in an ordinary civil action. A judgment of abatement does not require as a condition precedent the conviction of a defendant for the current violation which gave rise to the nuisance and caused these abatement proceedings to be initiated. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-210 JOINT PROPERTY INTEREST RELEASE.

SEC. 28-210. JOINT PROPERTY INTEREST RELEASE. If at the time of the violation there is a joint property interest in the vehicle to be abated, and at the time of the violation the vehicle is the only vehicle available to the registered owner's immediate family that may be operated with a valid class C driver's license, the vehicle may not be abated upon compliance with all of the following requirements: (1) The registered owner or the joint property interest owner requests release of the vehicle and the owner of the joint property interest submits proof of that interest; (2) The registered owner or the joint property interest owner submits proof that the vehicle is properly registered pursuant to the Texas Transportation Code; (3) All towing and storage charges and any administrative charges authorized pursuant to Section 2303.155 of the Texas Administrative Code and Section 48A-43 of the Dallas City Code are paid; and (4) The registered owner and the joint property interest owner sign a stipulated vehicle release agreement, as described in Section 28-211, in consideration for the release of the vehicle. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-211 STIPULATED VEHICLE RELEASE AGREEMENT.

SEC. 28-211. STIPULATED VEHICLE RELEASE AGREEMENT. (a) A stipulated vehicle release agreement must provide for the consent of the signers to the automatic future abatement and transfer of title to the city of any vehicle registered to that person, if the vehicle is used in a street race or exhibition of reckless driving. The agreement must be in effect for five years from the date of signing and must be maintained by the chief of police. (b) No vehicle may be released pursuant to Section 28-210 if the chief of police has on file a prior stipulated vehicle release agreement signed by that person within the previous five years. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-212 VEHICLE TITLE VESTING IN THE CITY.

SEC. 28-212. VEHICLE TITLE VESTING IN THE CITY. All right, title, and interest in the vehicle vests in the city upon commission of the act giving rise to the nuisance under this division. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-213 SALE OF ABATED VEHICLE.

SEC. 28-213. SALE OF ABATED VEHICLE. (a) Order of nuisance and abatement. Any vehicle declared a nuisance and subject to abatement pursuant to this division must be sold once an order of nuisance and abatement is issued by a court pursuant to Sections 28-208 or 28-209 unless the chief of police determines that the vehicle is necessary to be utilized to further police operations in enforcing street racing or reckless driving exhibitions violations or for any other law enforcement purposes. (b) Public auction. The city shall offer the abated vehicle for sale at public auction within 60 days of receiving title to the vehicle. Low value vehicles must be disposed of pursuant to Section 28-214. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-214 DISPOSITION OF LOW- VALUE VEHICLES.

SEC. 28-214. DISPOSITION OF LOW- VALUE VEHICLES. If the chief of police determines that the abated vehicle to be sold pursuant to this division is of so little value that it cannot readily be sold to the public generally, the vehicle must be conveyed to a licensed dismantler or donated to a charitable organization. License plates must be removed from any vehicle conveyed to a dismantler pursuant to this section. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-215 DISTRIBUTION OF SALE PROCEEDS.

SEC. 28-215. DISTRIBUTION OF SALE PROCEEDS. The proceeds of a sale of an abated vehicle must be disposed of in the following priority: (1) To satisfy the towing and storage costs following impoundment, the costs of providing notice pursuant to Section 28-207 the costs of sale, and the costs and fees associated with the judicial proceedings, if any; (2) To the holder of any subordinate lien or encumbrance on the vehicle, other than a registered or legal owner, to satisfy any indebtedness so secured if written notification of demand is received before distribution of the proceeds is completed. The holder of a subordinate lien or encumbrance, if requested, shall furnish reasonable proof of its interest and, unless it does so upon request, is not entitled to distribution; then, (3) The remaining proceeds shall be transferred to the City of Dallas Police Department for the enforcement of street racing and reckless driving exhibition violations. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-216 ACCOUNTING OF SALE PROCEEDS.

SEC. 28-216. ACCOUNTING OF SALE PROCEEDS. The person conducting the sale shall disburse the proceeds of the sale as provided in Section 28-215 and shall provide a written accounting regarding the disposition to the chief of police and, on request, to any person entitled to a share of the proceeds or to any person validly claiming a share of the proceeds, as determined by the chief of police, within 15 days after the sale is conducted. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-217 STOLEN VEHICLES.

SEC. 28-217. STOLEN VEHICLES. No vehicle may be sold pursuant to this division if the chief of police determines that the vehicle was stolen. In this event, the vehicle may be claimed by the registered owner or lienholder of record at any time after impoundment, provided the vehicle registration is current and the registered owner has no outstanding traffic violations or parking penalties on his or her driving record or on the registration record of any vehicle registered to the person. If the identity of the legal and registered owners or lienholder of record of the vehicle cannot be reasonably ascertained, the vehicle may be sold. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-218 INNOCENT OWNER REMEDY.

SEC. 28-218. INNOCENT OWNER REMEDY. Any owner of a vehicle who suffers any loss due to the abatement of any vehicle pursuant to this division may recover the amount of the loss from the person who violated Texas Transportation Code Sections 545.401 or 545.420, which gave rise to the nuisance under this division. (Ord. 31540)

Dallas City Code § 28-219 TOWING AND STORAGE FEES.

SEC. 28-219. TOWING AND STORAGE FEES. Charges for towing and storage for any vehicle impounded pursuant to this division must not exceed the normal towing and storage rates for other vehicle towing and storage conducted by the chief of police in the normal course of business. (Ord. 31540)

Source: City of Dallas, Dallas City Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-148270Fetched: 10/26/2026