Private parking lot boots your car, can I remove it?

[dsheli]

Hey guys I have a question. I live in Atlanta, Ga and one of our malls (Lenox Mall) has a parking lot that is owned by a private party directly across the street. Well when Lenox gets busy people park across the street and walk over. Well a guy then goes around an boots peoples car who park and walk over. He then charges 95 cash to have the boot removed. Well if my car got booted could I remove it and leave with out penalty from the state? Remember this is a private party (lot owner) who is doing the booting.
David

[SgtScott31]

If the lot is owned by the person who is "booting" your vehicle, then it sounds to me that he has a right to dictate who parks in his lot. If it is his boot that you damage in order to remove it from your vehicle, then you will probably be liable for the boot as well. It is a civil matter that you need to take up with the lot owner.

[PhilipCal]

Private Parking Lot

The "key" word here is private. In Alabama, your situation would be a civil matter. What you should understand is that the owner of private property can pretty well dictate whether or not, you, I, or anyone else can park there. He helps his own cause by visibly posting, No Parking/No Trespassing signs, but in many jurisdictions, such posting is not required. Okay, to your question. Could you remove the boot? I suppose you could, but if you damaged the boot in the process, you could be liable for it. Possibly, even criminally. When all the smoke clears, and the dust settles, you're probably better off not parking there.

[dsheli]

Cool, THanks!