DOJ Sues California Towing Company for Illegally Auctioning Servicemembers’ Vehicles

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against S & K Towing, Inc., which is based in San Clemente, California, alleging that the company violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by illegally auctioning motor vehicles owned by members of the military.

The Department's lawsuit alleges that, from August 28, 2020, through April 15, 2025, S & K illegally sold or disposed of as many as 148 vehicles owned by servicemembers, many of which were towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Even though S & K's contract with Camp Pendleton required it to comply with all applicable federal and state laws, the company made no effort to comply with the SCRA, which requires tow companies to obtain a court order before selling or disposing of a vehicle owned by an SCRA-protected servicemember.

"Towing companies must respect and abide by the federal laws that protect members of our Armed Forces," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Servicemembers are often absent for extended periods due to training and deployments and may not know that their vehicle has been towed. The SCRA plays an important role in providing these servicemembers with adequate legal protections, including notice and the opportunity to have towing and storage fees adjusted in light of their military service."

"Servicemembers deserve peace of mind in knowing that their legal rights will be protected at home while they are away serving the United States," said First Assistant United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California. "It is unacceptable for a business to sell or dispose of servicemembers' vehicles without abiding by the laws that protect servicemembers."

In May 2024, a Military Legal Assistance attorney contacted S & K Towing and explained that the company was violating the SCRA. In response, a manager at S & K Towing told the attorney that "We do this all the time." After this exchange, S & K Towing continued to sell and dispose of vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without obtaining court orders. Some of the vehicles S & K sold or disposed of were registered to addresses on Camp Pendleton. In other cases, S & K auctioned vehicles even after they were told that the owner was in the military.

This case is being handled by the Civil Rights Division's Housing and Civil Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $484 million in monetary relief for over 149,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the Department's SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit https://www.servicemembers.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA may have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations can be found at legalassistance.law.af.milLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..