Montana Code 61-8-902. Purpose
61-8-902. Purpose. The legislature recognizes that:
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-8-902
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- For hire: means an action performed for remuneration of any kind, whether paid or promised, either directly or indirectly, or received or obtained through leasing, brokering, or buy-and-sell arrangements from which a remuneration is obtained or derived for transportation service. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
(1)wrecked, disabled, and abandoned motor vehicles on the public roadways create hazards that imperil lives and property and require expeditious removal;
(2)officers investigating accidents on the public roadways need immediately available towing and recovery vehicles staffed by competent operators and adequately equipped to clear the roadways and remove hazardous obstructions with minimum damage to property;
(3)certain standards and classifications are needed for professional tow trucks and equipment used for towing and recovering wrecked, disabled, and abandoned motor vehicles or other objects creating hazards on the public roadways;
(4)encouragement of a competitive and qualified professional towing industry requires establishment of a uniform and equitable qualification system based on the equipment and the standards provided in 61-8-905 through 61-8-907 and a system for the fair consideration of all qualified tow truck companies; and
(5)the use of nonqualified tow truck companies or private motor vehicles to tow or recover for hire wrecked, disabled, or abandoned vehicles creates additional hazards and, except in limited situations, should be prohibited. However, when a person or tow truck company responds in good faith to life-threatening emergency situations, it should not be liable for civil damages for acts or omissions, other than damages occasioned by gross negligence or by willful or wanton acts or omissions.