Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-4217.2: Abandoned vessels – Contest of removal or storage –
Where this section sits in the code
- OK Code
- Title 63
Hearing.
A. After the removal or storage of any abandoned or wrecked
vessel at the request of a public agency, the registered or legal
owner of the vessel, or their agent, may contest the validity of the
removal or storage, by filing a written request for a hearing with
the public agency. The written request may be filed before or after
the vessel is retrieved from the storage operator. The public
agency shall not be required to conduct a hearing if the request is
received more than ten (10) days following actual or constructive
notice to the owner or driver of the vessel that the vessel has been
so removed or stored. A hearing shall be scheduled within seventy-
two (72) hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. The
public agency may authorize its own officer or employee to conduct
the hearing, so long as the hearing officer is not the same person
who directed the removal or storage of the vessel. The public
agency may, with the consent of the person requesting the hearing,
schedule the hearing by telephone and conduct the hearing on the
merits by telephone conference call.
The hearing officer shall apply the law to the evidence and make
a determination whether the vessel removal and storage was
justified. If deemed unjustified, the public agency shall bear the
cost of hookup and tow mileage, and the operator shall waive all
storage costs in such cases as a condition of eligibility to respond
to a service call request from a public agency. The vessel owner or
agent shall not be charged any type of fee or costs relating to
impoundment or storage in such case. If the tow and storage is
deemed justified, the owner or agent shall bear the cost of
reasonable tow and storage.
B. Failure of either the registered or legal owner, or their
agent, to timely request or to timely appear for a scheduled hearing
shall satisfy the hearing requirement of this section.
C. The hearing conducted by the public agency pursuant to this
section shall not be governed by the Administrative Procedures Act.
The owner of a stored vessel may, either in lieu of such hearing or
after such hearing, file a petition in the district court of the
county wherein the vessel is stored. The district court is vested
with original jurisdiction to conduct a de novo hearing and
determine the validity of removal and storage.
D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
removal of vessels pursuant to Section 954A of Title 47 of the
Oklahoma Statutes.
Collected 2026-09-14T18:32:36Z. Source file · JSON