Long Beach settles lawsuits filed by motorists over former towing program

The city of Long Beach has reached a settlement with motorists who sued in federal court over the city’s former towing program, court records show.

Five lawsuits filed in 2023 and 2024 against the city and All County Hook Up Towing Inc., of Freeport, the towing company the city hired, alleged drivers’ vehicles were seized without a hearing in violation of their constitutional right to due process under a now amended 2021 city ordinance.

"The parties are pleased to report that they have agreed on settlement amounts in each of the cases referenced above and have begun drafting the settlement agreements to effectuate same," wrote Matthew DeLuca, an attorney for Long Beach, in an Aug. 19 letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge James Wicks. "Though the parties still need to address ancillary issues such as the logistics for payment, release language, etc., none of these items are expected to be controversial or unduly delay the settlement from being finalized and executed by the parties."

The plaintiffs' attorney, Andrew Campanelli, of Merrick-based Campanelli & Associates P.C., said in an email Thursday he was "not currently at liberty to disclose the terms of settlement in those cases, but those terms will become public in the very near future."

Long Beach spokesman John McNally said Friday the city doesn’t comment on active litigation.

All County Hook Up Towing’s attorney, Alexander Sendrowitz, of Hauppauge-based Quatela Chimeri PLLC, declined to comment Friday.

All cases were filed in the Eastern District Court of New York in Central Islip.

Long Beach amended its code in August 2021 to allow the city to boot vehicles for several reasons, including having three or more unpaid parking tickets. If the outstanding tickets and fees were not paid within 72 hours, the booted vehicle would be towed and impounded. The vehicle would start to rack up storage fees and could then be sold at auction.

A boot is a device that is attached to a wheel of the vehicle to prevent it from moving. Revenue from the seizures can serve as a major source of recurring revenue to municipalities.

The booting fees could range from $250 to $600, according to the complaints, though the city code set the fee at $270. When a vehicle was towed, the city would collect a $120 administrative fee and the towing company would collect a $200 towing fee and $25 storage fee per day.

In December 2023, the city amended its code so that vehicle owners and lien holders would get a hearing before cars would be seized. 

The settlements don’t affect a separate class-action lawsuit filed by Campanelli on behalf of named and unnamed motorists whose vehicles were allegedly seized without due process under the city’s old policy.

In an amended complaint filed with a motion to grant class status, Campanelli wrote that documents turned over by the city and towing company showed 2,166 vehicles had been seized under the city’s former policy.