Mycka v. Envoy

• Court: Minnesota Court of Appeals
• Citation: Mycka v. Envoy, 783 N.W.2d 234 (Minn. App. 2010)
• Decision Date: 15 June 2010
• Docket Number: No. A09-1025.
• Parties: Daniel Stephen MYCKA, Appellant,v.2003 GMC ENVOY, MN Plate RPG535, VIN 1GKDT13S432414651, Respondent.

783 N.W.2d 234

Daniel Stephen MYCKA, Appellant,v.2003 GMC ENVOY, MN Plate RPG535, VIN 1GKDT13S432414651, Respondent.

No. A09-1025.

Court of Appeals of Minnesota.

June 15, 2010.

Syllabus by the Court

The city did not seize appellant's vehicle “incident to a lawful arrest,” as that phrase is used in Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(b)(1) (2006), because the city seized the vehicle after appellant was released from jail and after appellant retrieved his vehicle from a private towing company. Samuel A. McCloud, Carson J. Heefner, McCloud & Heefner, P.A., Shakopee, MN, for appellant.

Carl J. Newquist, Sarah M. Kimball, Newquist & Herrick Law Offices, P.C., Fridley, MN, for respondent.

Considered and decided by JOHNSON, Presiding Judge; HUDSON, Judge; and CONNOLLY, Judge.

OPINION

JOHNSON, Judge.

The City of Fridley seized a motor vehicle belonging to Daniel Stephen Mycka following his arrest for driving while impaired. The city seized the vehicle after Mycka was released from jail and after he retrieved the vehicle from a private towing company. Mycka commenced this action in the district court to challenge the city's seizure on the ground that, without process issued by a court, the city was not authorized to seize the vehicle from him. The district court rejected Mycka's challenge and ordered the vehicle to be forfeited. We conclude that the city improperly seized Mycka's vehicle because the seizure was not “incident to a lawful arrest,” as required by the applicable statute. Therefore, we reverse the order of forfeiture.

FACTS

On Sunday, June 15, 2008, at approximately 1:55 a.m., a Fridley police officer arrested Mycka for driving while impaired (DWI). At the time of his arrest, Mycka's driver's license was subject to a restriction that prohibited him from consuming alcoholic beverages. After Mycka was arrested, his vehicle was towed from the scene of the arrest by Shorty's Towing, a private towing company, at the city's request.

Later on Sunday, Mycka was released from the Anoka County Jail. Upon being released, he was told by someone in the sheriff's department that he could retrieve his vehicle from Shorty's Towing. Mycka did so at approximately 1:00 p.m.

On the morning of Monday, June 16, 2008, Officer Jennifer Markham of the Fridley Police Department reviewed records of arrests made during the previous weekend, including records of Mycka's arrest. Officer Markham realized that, because Mycka violated the terms of his restricted license, his vehicle was subject to forfeiture. See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subds. 1(e)(2)(ii), 6(a) (2006). Officer Markham immediately called Shorty's Towing to determine whether it still possessed Mycka's vehicle, but she learned that the vehicle had been released to Mycka. Officer Markham later testified that, according to the police department's policy, Mycka's vehicle should have been towed to the city's impound lot, rather than to Shorty's Towing, to facilitate the city's commencement of forfeiture proceedings.

At approximately noon on Monday, Officer Markham and two other officers went to Mycka's residence to seize his vehicle, a GMC Envoy, which was parked outside in his driveway. The officers parked three squad cars outside Mycka's home. Officer Markham knocked on the front door. When Mycka answered the door, Officer Markham gave him written notice of the seizure and the city's intent to forfeit the vehicle. The officers allowed Mycka to remove personal property from his vehicle. The officers then loaded the vehicle onto a flatbed truck and drove away. Mycka was not placed under arrest for a second time.

On June 27, 2008, Mycka commenced this action to challenge the seizure and forfeiture pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 8(d) (2006). He alleged, among other things, that the city did not follow the applicable statutory procedures when seizing his vehicle because they did not obtain process from the district court and because the seizure did not occur “incident to a lawful arrest,” as required by the exception to the process requirement. See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(b)(1). In December 2008, the district court held an evidentiary hearing. In April 2009, the district court issued an order denying the relief Mycka sought. In its memorandum, the district court reasoned that the city's seizure was performed incident to Mycka's arrest. Accordingly, the district court ordered that Mycka's vehicle be “forfeited to Fridley Police Department in accordance with Minn.Stat. § 169A.63.” Mycka appeals.

ISSUE

Did the city seize Mycka's motor vehicle “incident to a lawful arrest,” as that phrase is used in Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(b)(1)?

ANALYSIS

Mycka argues that the district court erred by concluding that the city's seizure of his vehicle was performed “incident to a lawful arrest.” See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2 (2006). We apply a de novo standard of review to the issues raised by Mycka's argument, which are matters of statutory interpretation. Laase v.2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, 776 N.W.2d 431, 433 (Minn.2009).

A.

Section 169A.63 of the Minnesota Statutes concerns the forfeiture of motor vehicles used to commit alcohol-related driving offenses. Under that statute, a motor vehicle may be forfeited under section 169A.63 in either of two circumstances. First, a motor vehicle may be forfeited “if it was used in the commission of a designated offense.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 6(a). The term “designated offense” is defined to mean the criminal offenses of first-degree DWI, second-degree DWI, driving after a driver's license has been canceled as inimical to public safety, and violating certain restrictions on a driver's license. See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 1(e) (2006). Second, a motor vehicle may be forfeited if it “was used in conduct resulting in a designated license revocation.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 6(a). The term “designated license revocation” is defined to include, among other things, a third license revocation within ten years. See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 1(d) (2006).

Section 169A.63 also provides for the seizure of motor vehicles that are subject to forfeiture. As a general rule, “A motor vehicle subject to forfeiture ... may be seized by the appropriate agency upon process issued by any court having jurisdiction over the vehicle.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(a). The term “appropriate agency” is defined to mean “a law enforcement agency that has the authority to make an arrest for a violation of a designated offense or to require a test under section 169A.51.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 1(b) (2006). If a law enforcement agency does not obtain process issued by a court, the agency may, in the alternative, seize a motor vehicle subject to forfeiture pursuant to any of three exceptions to the process requirement:

Property may be seized without process if:

(1) the seizure is incident to a lawful arrest or a lawful search;

(2) the vehicle subject to seizure has been the subject of a prior judgment in favor of the state in a criminal injunction or forfeiture proceeding under this section; or (3) the appropriate agency has probable cause to believe that the delay occasioned by the necessity to obtain process would result in the removal or destruction of the vehicle.

Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(b). If a motor vehicle is seized-whether by court process pursuant to subdivision 2(a) or administratively pursuant to subdivision 2(b)-the law enforcement agency, “within a reasonable time after seizure, ... shall serve the driver or operator of the vehicle with a notice of the seizure and intent to forfeit the vehicle.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 8(b) (2006).

If a motor vehicle has been seized administratively, the owner of the vehicle may, within 30 days of receiving notice of the seizure, commence an action in district court to request a judicial determination as to whether the vehicle should be forfeited. Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 8(d). If a motor vehicle has not been seized administratively, a prosecuting authority may commence a civil in rem action in district court to obtain a judicial determination of forfeiture of the vehicle. Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 9(a), (b) (2006). The term “prosecuting authority” is defined to mean “the attorney in the jurisdiction in which the designated offense occurred who is responsible for prosecuting violations of a designated offense.” Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 1(i) (2006). Regardless how the civil action is commenced, the district court shall determine whether the vehicle should be forfeited. See generally Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 9 (2006).

B.

In this case, Mycka's driver's license was subject to a restriction that prohibited him from consuming alcoholic beverages. By consuming alcoholic beverages, Mycka engaged in a “designated offense.” See Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 1(e)(2)(ii); see also Mastakoski v.2003 Dodge Durango, 738 N.W.2d 411, 415 (Minn.App.2007) (holding that driver need not “be convicted of a designated offense for the vehicle used to be subject to forfeiture”) review denied (Minn. Nov. 21, 2007). The city sought to effect an administrative seizure of the vehicle, without obtaining court process, pursuant to subdivision 2(b). Mycka commenced a civil action pursuant to subdivision 8(d) to challenge the administrative forfeiture and to obtain a judicial determination that the vehicle should not be forfeited. The primary issue in the district court, and the sole issue on appeal, is whether the city seized Mycka's vehicle “incident to a lawful arrest,” as required by Minn.Stat. § 169A.63, subd. 2(b)(1). Mycka does not argue that the arrest was not lawful; rather, he argues that the seizure was not “incident to” the arrest.

The legislature did not define the phrase “incident to a lawful arrest” within section 169A.63. One leading dictionary defines the word “incident,” in its adjectival form, to mean “naturally happening or appertaining, esp. as a subordinate or subsidiary feature,” “[d]ependent on, or appertaining...