SCRANTON – A Volkswagen business trust claims that a vehicle it was legally entitled to repossess when its lessee defaulted on payments, was instead taken by Lackawanna County and another auto company, when that same lessee was arrested in April of last year.
VW Credit Leasing, Ltd. of Delaware filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on March 2 versus Lackawanna County of Scranton and DeNaples Auto Parts, Inc. of Dunmore.
“Lackawanna regularly seizes vehicles as part of its law enforcement activity but has no constitutionally-appropriate procedure for disposing of seized vehicles consistent with the basic due process requirements of notice and a hearing. Instead, Lackawanna employs the outdated and constitutionally-unsound practice of summarily turning over control of seized vehicles to the private company that towed and stored the vehicle when Lackawanna seized it. In this regard, Lackawanna’s policy is to enlist a garage to tow and store vehicles and allow those garages to lien and/or sell the vehicle as a means to cover the costs of towing and storage,” the suit says.
“Lackawanna’s policy and practice of summarily turning over seized vehicles to private tow companies is a joint enterprise from which Lackawanna benefits by avoiding the cost of preserving the seized vehicles and by avoiding the cost of having to pay for towing services, because the tow company accepts the vehicle as compensation for the services it renders to Lackawanna in lieu of money. The tow company benefits by using its control over the vehicle (created under mantle of authority from Lackawanna) to profit by conditioning release of the vehicle upon payment of money to the tow company or by selling the vehicle in the absence of payment.”
The suit adds that Lackawanna County’s procedure for disposing of its seized vehicles violates citizens’ rights of the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
“Here, after seizing a vehicle owned and leased by VW Credit after arresting the lessor/driver, Lackawanna afforded no due process to VW Credit and instead summarily disposed of its interests in that vehicle by giving it to DeNaples as payment for the services that Lackawanna had contracted DeNaples to provide,” the suit states.
“DeNaples accepted the vehicle from Lackawanna as compensation, asserted an ex parte lien for those services, demanded that VW Credit satisfy that ex parte lien – which DeNaples insisted impaired VW Credit’s pre-existing ownership interests – before it would relinquish possession of VW Credit’s property. At no time was VW Credit afforded notice, a hearing, or just compensation for Lackawanna’s taking of VW Credit’s property.”
The suit holds that VW Credit is the titled owner of the vehicle in question and both before April 25, 2022 and before any other facts relevant to this action, VW Credit was party (by way of assignment) to a lease agreement with non-party Cynthia Lynn Pollick, who leased the Vehicle from VW Credit.
Before and/or on April 25, 2022, Pollick defaulted under the lease contract, thereafter entitling VW Credit to immediate possession of the vehicle – however, Lackawanna County instead took possession of the vehicle.
“On or about April 25, 2022, Lackawanna arrested the customer pursuant to, upon information and belief, a bench warrant for her arrest, which arrest occurred while the customer was on Lackawanna property. Thereafter, upon realizing the customer had left the vehicle on Lackawanna property, Lackawanna took custody of the vehicle and instructed DeNaples to tow it and store it at Lackawanna’s direction. VW Credit had no involvement with or knowledge of the customer’s actions or the operation of the Vehicle at the time it was seized by Lackawanna law enforcement and/or DeNaples. On or about July 10, 2022 – 76 days later – VW Credit discovered that the Vehicle had been impounded. Upon learning that the vehicle was impounded with DeNaples, VW Credit informed DeNaples that the vehicle was not abandoned, that VW Credit wished to retake possession of the vehicle and demanded that DeNaples release the vehicle to VW Credit,” the suit explains.
“DeNaples refused unless VW Credit paid the fees demanded by DeNaples in order to recover the vehicle. DeNaples asserted that it was able to detain the vehicle from VW Credit because DeNaples claimed a lien on the vehicle for towing and storage charges. There is no law which requires VW Credit to pay Lackawanna’s towing and storage bill for DeNaples’s alleged services surrounding Lackawanna’s impounding of the customer’s vehicle. To the extent Lackawanna or DeNaples seek to rely on any Pennsylvania State law or local ordinance to justify their conduct, these laws are unconstitutional as applied to the circumstances, and/or do not apply to the facts by their terms. VW Credit did not pay the fees demand by DeNaples, and DeNaples refused to release the vehicle to VW Credit. Upon information and belief, DeNaples remains in possession of the vehicle.”
For counts of deprivation of property by unlawful seizure, deprivation of property without due process of law, taking of property without just compensation, declaratory relief, replevin, conversion and tortious interference, the plaintiff is seeking actual damages, consequential damages, punitive damages, fees and costs of suit, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, and such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
The plaintiff is represented by Rebecca J. Price and Nicholas A. Duston of Norris McLaughlin, in Allentown and Bridgewater, N.J.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 3:23-cv-00378
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com