- Two towing companies contracted by the Texas city must establish a settlement fund.
- A lieutenant colonel’s Chevy Silverado was auctioned off while she was deployed in Afghanistan.
- This follows Hyundai and Kia’s $300,000 settlement for repossessing cars from active-duty members.
Two towing companies in El Paso, Texas, have been ordered to pay damages and civil penalties after improperly impounding and auctioning off 176 vehicles belonging to deployed U.S. armed forces members.
An agreement reached earlier this month involves the U.S. Justice Department, the City of El Paso, United Road Towing, and Rod Robertson Enterprises. As part of the settlement, the city will pay a $20,000 civil penalty.
It will also need to develop policies to ensure contractors auctioning and disposing of impounded vehicles comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The penalties against the two towing companies involved are more substantial.
Read: Hyundai, Kia Pay $300,000 To Settle Claims They Illegally Repo’d Service Members Cars
Rod Robertson Enterprises served as the City’s contractor between January 2015 and April 2019 and will need to establish a $140,000 settlement fund to compensate affected soldiers. It will also pay a $20,000 civil penalty.
United Road Towing has been the City’s contractor since June 2019 and needs to establish a $57,395 settlement fund and must pay a $24,980 civil penalty. Additionally, it must provide Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) training to employees, investigate the military status of any registered owner before auctioning a vehicle, and obtain a valid SCRA waiver before auctioning a vehicle owned by a protected individual.
The U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation into the auctioning of vehicles owned by armed forces members after the City of El Paso towed the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado of Lieutenant Colonel Lisa Dechent while she was deployed to Afghanistan. United Road Towing failed to obtain a court order to impound the vehicle and sold it at auction for $6,200. Dechent still owed $13,000 on the loan.
“Members of our armed forces should not have to worry about their cars being auctioned off while they are on the front lines defending our freedoms, liberties and rights,” assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said after the settlement.
“These settlements should send a strong message to other cities that they should not take advantage of the rights of our servicemembers while they are defending us from harm.”
