Suit accuses Long Beach of illegally seizing cars with outstanding tickets

Half a dozen drivers have sued the City of Long Beach in federal court, alleging the city seized their vehicles without a hearing under a 2021 city ordinance that has since been amended.

In three separate lawsuits filed since June, the plaintiffs allege the city's policy of seizing vehicles and threatening to sell them unless the owner paid hundreds of dollars for outstanding parking tickets and fees even if the cases "have not yet been adjudicated" violated their constitutional rights. 

The lack of hearings violated plaintiffs' rights to due process and rights to be free from unreasonable seizures under the U.S. and New York State constitutions, the complaints state. 

Long Beach amended its code in August 2021 to allow the city to boot vehicles for one of eight reasons, including having three or more unpaid parking tickets, a change from previous years. 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. 

The booting fees could range from $250 to $600, according to the complaints, though the city code set the fee at $270. Once the boot was removed, the owner had 24 hours to return it to the city or face a $25 charge per day. 

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. 

The city entered into a three-year contract on June 10, 2022, with All County Hook Up Towing Inc. for booting, towing and storing. 

The first two lawsuits, filed on June 20, 2023, and Oct. 4, 2023, also named as a defendant All County Hook Up Towing Inc. The third lawsuit, filed Feb. 5, did not name the towing company as a defendant.

The suits name six plaintiffs, all from Long Beach, including Kevin Horn, who alleges in his complaint that his Kia Soul was seized because he had had an insurance lapse of four days, even though it had been resolved months earlier. The defendants then threatened to sell his car unless he paid both the tow company and the city, the complaint alleges, adding his vehicle was both properly registered and insured.

In December, Long Beach amended its code to give vehicle owners and lien holders a hearing before cars are seized.

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

The plaintiffs' attorney, Andrew Campanelli, of Merrick-based Campanelli & Associates P.C., said he is seeking class-action status. 

“They can’t seize your car for tickets and then demand money and hold it for ransom. That’s unconstitutional," Campanelli said. 

The city and the towing company have denied the allegations in court filings.

The attorney for the towing company, Alexander Sendrowitz, of Hauppauge-based Quatela Chimeri PLLC, said the company has "no comment at this time.”

Long Beach spokesman John McNally said the city would not comment on pending litigation. 

Under the city's contract with All County Hook Up Towing, the company paid the city $225 for every car it towed, and then collected fees above that from the car owner, according to the lawsuits. During an 11-month period from August 2022 to July 2023, the company paid the city $230,000 under its contract, according to the complaint. The city's contract with All County Hook Up is still active, according to McNally. 

Campanelli said the city’s policy and contract with the towing company resulted in at least 270 vehicles being seized without due process. 

The city has made a cross claim against the towing company, alleging in court papers that the company was at fault and liable for any costs associated with the implementation of the program.

The company denied in court papers it was at fault and alleged that Long Beach had acted with "negligence" and "carelessness."

Campanelli said it doesn’t matter that the city has changed its policy.

“For everybody whose car they seized in the last three years, they violated their rights, so they’re entitled to get their money back, plus 9 percent interest” and other costs, he said.

The lawsuits in Long Beach follow a successful lawsuit brought against Nassau County over a similar policy.

In that case, a federal judge ruled that the county’s policy had denied an auto loan company due process by seizing a car in which the bank had an interest and that Nassau had violated the lender's rights by permitting a towing company to attach conditions to a car's lease and asserting a lien without a hearing.