Mass. high court considers whether insurer must pay tow-storage costs beyond vehicle value

The Supreme Judicial Court on Oct. 12 heard oral argument in Toady Service Inc. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, a dispute over whether Liberty Mutual must pay towing and long-term storage charges for a vehicle involved in a March 1, 2016 crash that killed two people and injured several others.

Attorney Ralph Caffarelli, representing Toady Service Inc., told the court that Liberty Mutual was liable “for these costs” on three theories: “promissory estoppel, quasi contract, and . . . chapter 159B, section 6B,” and argued that the insurer became the vehicle’s owner after it paid the insured about $13,000 and took title in early January. “This vehicle had evidence in the criminal case and in the civil case,” Caffarelli said, arguing that the car’s evidentiary value justified recovery beyond the vehicle’s market value.

Justice (questioner) pressed the defense on the statutory remedy, asking, “What words in the statute give you a right to go after the insurer of the vehicle that you're holding on behalf of the police?” The court noted that the statute provides a lien and a maximum recovery for involuntary towing and storage (discussed at $35 a day in the record) but…