OLYMPIA — On Tuesday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against a Tacoma-based towing company for illegally auctioning off a military service member’s vehicle while he was deployed at sea.
The lawsuit, filed in Pierce County Superior Court, asserts the company, Burns Towing Inc., violated the Service Members’ Civil Relief Act, or the SCRA, a federal law that provides special protections to active duty service members. This law requires companies to obtain a court order before seizing or selling property belonging to a service member. Violations of the federal SCRA are also violations of state law — the Washington State Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act.
“Service members shouldn’t have to worry about their property being illegally sold while they’re deployed,” Ferguson said. “I will enforce our laws to make sure service members have the protections they have earned.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), while he was deployed on an aircraft carrier, a local Navy sailor, Petty Officer 2nd Class Alex Vaughn left his car at an apartment complex in Pierce County, home to thousands of veterans and active service members. While Burns Towing legally towed the vehicle, the company proceeded to sell it without verifying the military status of its owner and obtaining a court order as required by law.
When Vaughn returned home and realized his car had been impounded, he contacted the Navy Legal Assistance Office, who sent a letter to Burns regarding the towing company’s violation of the law. Burns ignored the letter.
Vaughn then contacted the Attorney General’s Office. The AGO wrote to Burns and requested a response to Mr. Vaughn’s complaint. Burns responded to the complaint by explaining that it “[had] no record of any notification that the [registered owner] was in the military service at the time.” However, the law requires the towing company to affirmatively verify the military status of the owner before selling.
According to the AGO, the Department of Defense provides an active-duty service member database that companies can use to easily verify military status. This search, available for free on the SCRA website, requires either a date of birth or a social security number to verify a person’s military status. Without that information, a company can pay a private company about $35 to run a search for them.
Ferguson’s lawsuit asks the court to order Burns to repay the service member for the damages resulting from the sale of his car, in addition to a civil penalty and attorney’s costs and fees. Additionally, the lawsuit asks the court to impose injunctions against Burns prohibiting future violations of the law.
The Washington SCRA allows for full restitution and penalties of up to $55,000 for a first offense and up to $110,000 for subsequent offenses. As part of the lawsuit, Ferguson will conduct additional discovery into whether the towing company sold other cars belonging to service members without a legally required court order.
