Customer Success: Larry Beat a Confusing NYC Parking Sign

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Last Updated on September 24, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

The parking ticket was dismissed because of a confusing NYC parking sign

Do you believe in magic? How about good luck? Or, the universe helping you beat a ticket because of a confusing NYC parking sign?

Here’s a success story about Joe and how we beat a parking ticket because the signs on a Gotcha pole were confusing.

Joe’s story

Joe pulled into an empty parking space to the left of a Gotcha Pole that displayed two parking signs and an addendum on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at 9:17 am. Here’s a photograph of the NYC parking sign.

Joe read the signs and thought the addendum meant that meters were not in effect all days between 9 am and 10:30 am. Since Joe parked his chariot between 9-10:30 am, he didn’t pay for parking. Do you agree? [alert type=”success” icon-size=”hide-icon”](Larry’s comment: When a parking sign does not display the days the rule is in effect, the rule is in effect “ALL DAYS”).[/alert]

A parking ticket warrior disagreed with our hero, Joe, and issued a parking violation for failure to display a paid muni-meter receipt. The warrior thought the sign meant that muni-meters were not in effect during street cleaning hours on Tuesdays and Fridays between 9-10:30 am.

Who’s right?

The confusing sign defense

[alert type=”info” icon-size=”normal”]I prepared the following defense certification for Joe:[/alert]

Dear Honorable Judge,

I hereby certify as follows:

I plead not guilty to this parking violation because:

-The Days/Hours the rule was in effect were misdescribed or unclear

I parked my car opposite 299 E 11th Street in NYC on August 12, 2017. A parking ticket was issued at 9:17A. But, according to the plain language of the two parking signs and addendum, meters were not in effect between 9A – 10:30A. Since the addendum did not refer to any specific days (only times), I took it to mean, “all days” like any other parking sign that did not display specific days.

I have submitted a series of exhibits in support of my defense.

Thank you.

-I hereby certify that my testimony is the truth to the best of my knowledge. I fully understand that if my testimony is willfully false, I am subject to punishment

-I certify that the images and photographs contained in the exhibits are true and accurate reproductions of the originals as they existed on the date and time this parking ticket was issued

Respectfully submitted,

Joe Smith

Here are the Exhibits

Judge’s decision

The judge agreed with Joe. Not guilty. Parking ticket dismissed.

Need a little help understanding NYC parking signs?

Commentary

The addendum stated, “Meters are not in effect above times.” The parking ticket warrior took the liberty of re-writing the addendum in his head by adding the words, “Meters are not in effect above times and days.”

[alert type=”warning” icon-size=”normal”]The parking ticket judge ignored the warrior’s mental gymnastics and:[/alert]

-Applied the plain language of the addendum to Joe’s parking ticket

-The parking ticket was issued during the times the addendum stated that the meters were not in effect

-The judge held that Joe didn’t have to pay for parking and dismissed the parking ticket

[alert type=”warning” icon-size=”hide-icon”]Here are some takeaways:[/alert]

-Never, ever pay a parking ticket, “no questions asked”

-Don’t let your emotions get the best of you and behave like a victim (The Evil Empire loves when you file an emotion riddled defense about the nerve of a warrior to issue the ticket and the inequitable parking system in NYC…Ca-ching!)

-Check and re-check all elements on the parking ticket to be sure there were no omitted, misdescribed, or illegible required elements

-Read the rule you were charged with violating

-Check the language on the parking signs

-Present the proper proof, properly to beat the parking ticket

-Please notice that I took great pains to prove that the evil parking sign regulated the place of occurrence (Joe’s parking space) to eliminate the parking ticket judge from raising the familiar refrain, “How would I know that the photograph was the parking sign that regulated the place of occurrence?”

Most importantly, when you’re right_fight!