Cities will nail you on technicalities, so it's only fair to nail them on technicalities too. I'm sure we've all heard stories of people going to a pay station after parking and coming back to a ticket, or getting a ticket at four hours plus one minute as they're getting into the car, or what have you.
In any case, the courts are the final arbiter of the rules. They decide what is and isn't legal. Since he got these tickets dismissed, that means that he was within the intent or the letter or whatever part matters of the law.
For your hypothetical case of a accidental 99% sale, if the case went to court and the judge rendered a verdict, you'd have an ironclad answer to your question of who was right, legally speaking. Here, it did go to court and the judge did render a verdict, so we don't have to wonder.
In any case, the courts are the final arbiter of the rules. They decide what is and isn't legal. Since he got these tickets dismissed, that means that he was within the intent or the letter or whatever part matters of the law.
For your hypothetical case of a accidental 99% sale, if the case went to court and the judge rendered a verdict, you'd have an ironclad answer to your question of who was right, legally speaking. Here, it did go to court and the judge did render a verdict, so we don't have to wonder.