§ 10.20.180. Disposal to demolisher.

(1)

Any person, firm, corporation, or unit of government upon whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed and is thereby unable to transfer title to the motor vehicle, may apply to the police authority of the jurisdiction in which the motor vehicle is situated for authority to sell, give away, or otherwise dispose of the motor vehicle to a demolisher.

(2)

The application shall set out the name and address of the applicant, and the year, make, model, and serial number of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, together with any other identifying features, and shall contain a concise statement of the facts surrounding the abandonment, or a statement that the title of the motor vehicle is lost or destroyed, or the reasons for the defect of title in the owner. The applicant shall execute an affidavit stating that the facts alleged are true and that no material fact has been withheld. An order for disposal obtained pursuant to Section 555B.8, subsection 3, Code of Iowa, satisfies the application requirements of this paragraph.

(3)

If the police authority finds that the application is executed in proper form, and shows that the motor vehicle has been abandoned upon the property of the applicant, or if it shows that the motor vehicle is not abandoned but that the applicant appears to be the rightful owner, the police authority shall follow appropriate notification procedures as set forth in Section 10.20.170 of this chapter, except that in the case of an order for disposal obtained pursuant to Section 555B.8, subsection 3, Code of Iowa, no notification is required.

(4)

If the abandoned motor vehicle is not reclaimed in accordance with Section 10.20.170 of this chapter, or no lien holder objects to the disposal in the case of an owner-applicant, the police authority shall give the applicant a certificate of authority allowing the applicant to obtain a junking certificate for the motor vehicle. The applicant shall make application for a junking certificate to the county treasurer within fifteen days of purchase and surrender the certificate of authority in lieu of the certificate of title. The demolisher shall accept the junking certificate in lieu of the certificate of title to the motor vehicle.

(5)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section any person, firm, corporation, or unit of government upon whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a motor vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may dispose of such motor vehicle to a demolisher for junk without a title and without the notification procedures of Section 10.20.170 of this chapter, if the motor vehicle lacks an engine or two or more wheels or other structural part which renders the vehicle totally inoperable. The police authority shall give the applicant a certificate of authority. The owner shall apply to the county treasurer for a junking certificate within fifteen days of purchase and shall surrender the certificate of authority in lieu of the certificate of title.

(6)

The owner of an abandoned motor vehicle and all lien holders shall no longer have any right, title, claim, or interest in or to the motor vehicle; and no court in any case in law or equity shall recognize any right, title, claim, or interest of any owner or lien holders after the disposal of the motor vehicle to a demolisher.

(7)

Any proceeds from the sale of an abandoned motor vehicle to a demolisher under this section, by one other than the owner of the vehicle, except the sale of a vehicle pursuant to an order for disposal obtained pursuant to Section 10.20.170 of this chapter, shall first be applied to that person's expenses in effecting the sale, including storage, towing, and disposal charges, and any surplus shall be distributed in accordance with Section 10.20.175 of this chapter. The proceeds from the sale of a vehicle disposed of pursuant to Section 555B.8, subsection 3, Code of Iowa, shall be distributed in accordance with Section 555B.9, Code of Iowa.

(Ord. No. 2142, § I, 6-27-11)