Towing firm to pay $90,000 settlement for illegally promoting navy servicemembers’ automobiles

A towing firm in Virginia Beach has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a federal lawsuit accusing it of illegally auctioning off the automobiles of navy servicemembers.

Steve’s Towing was accused of auctioning off the autos of not less than seven navy servicemembers stationed within the Virginia Beach space between April 2019 and April 2022, together with two Arizona-tagged vehicles belonging to a Navy SEAL deployed abroad in early 2020 when the automobiles had been first towed.

Of the $90,000 fee, $67,500 will go to the seven service members talked about within the federal grievance. Up to $12,500 will go to different navy personnel whose autos could have been offered illegally and the remaining $10,000 is a civil penalty.

“This case began with a member of a Navy SEAL team who returned home from an overseas deployment, only to find that a towing company had auctioned off two vehicles that he had parked at a military base. This resolution will compensate all of the servicemembers whose vehicles were illegally taken from them while they were serving their country,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 

The automobiles of servicemembers are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If a towing firm impounds the automobile of a servicemember, they’re required to first receive a courtroom order earlier than any sale of the automotive.

In the Navy SEAL’s case, his Land Cruiser contained materials proof of his navy service, together with a bag of uniforms and a problem coin. 

Steve’s Towing, the federal government stated, didn’t observe the regulation and had no insurance policies in place to make sure compliance with the regulation.