The City Scrapped Her Car Over A Handful Of Tickets And Left Her With Nothing But A Bill – Forbes

Ameera Shaheed's car was towed and scrapped even though it was parked legally. Now she is suing ... [+] Wilmington, Delaware.

Ameera Shaheed knew her car was parked legally when the city of Wilmington, Delaware, started ticketing her in 2019. Even as she was trying to contest the first ticket, parking enforcement piled on with more citations. And one day, she went outside and her car was gone, towed by a city-contracted company. Living on a fixed income because of a disability, Ameera simply couldnt pay her fines and after 30 days her car was scrapped.

The value of Ameeras car was far greater$4,250than what she owed the city at the time she was towed$320. Today, the city still says she owes it $580 for the tickets and late fees. The city took one of her most valuable possessions and yet gave her no credit. And Ameera isnt alone.

Earl Dickerson paid a $60 ticket the city gave him after his van was parked too long in a legal space. But when he showed up at the towing company, he was told that he needed to pay $910 more to get his vehicle out. Like Ameera, he simply didnt have that amount of money since the pandemic hit him hard financially. His car was scrapped and he didnt receive a dime.

Wilmington contracts with two companies for towing services. Last year, one company alone kept nearly 1,000 of the more than 2,500 cars it towed. The towing companies get to keep all the proceeds of cars they scrap or sell. The city pays the companies nothing for their services, and while that might be a great deal for the city, its a raw deal for anyone who gets towed.

Wilmingtons scheme has not gone unnoticed, AAA Mid-Atlantic called out the myriad problems with towing in the city two years ago. Last year, a coalition of groups including AAA, the NAACP, the Latin American Community Center and the Institute for Justice called on the city to end its predatory towing practices immediately.

However, little has been done to reform the system or to compensate people who lost their transportation and the value of their vehicle. So, the Institute for Justice is now suing on behalf of Ameera and Earl, calling for the city to end the abuse and to give them the fair market value of their cars at the time they were seized.

The lawsuit is in federal court because the city is violating Ameera and Earls rights under the U.S. Constitution in a few different ways. First, the government has to properly compensate people whenever it takes their property. This means that if the city government has to tow cars and to take them for unpaid fines and fees, they still dont get to pocket the proceeds above and beyond what is owed. This applies equally when the government contracts the work out to private companies. What Wilmington is doing is the equivalent of taking a house through eminent domain but not paying the homeowners a dime. The constitution protects the value of your car the same as your home.

Second, the city is violating their Fourth Amendment right to be free of warrantless searches and seizures. The city just decided that it could take cars like Ameeras whenever it thought they owed too much. There was no emergency that required the city to move the car and Ameera was trying to contest the tickets. The city should have waited until it had a court order to seize her property.

Third, taking Ameeras and Earls cars without a hearing violates their rights to due process under the 14th Amendment. Under Supreme Court precedent, car owners should get a pre-seizure hearing before losing their car. In Wilmington, cars get scooped up and scrapped before people even have time to see a judge to contest their tickets. And to get a hearing to challenge tickets in Wilmington, you have to first pay the fine in full. Its unconstitutional for the government to make you pay a fine before it has even proved you did anything wrong.

Wilmington isnt alone in operating an unconstitutional and predatory towing scheme. The Institute for Justice also has a class action lawsuit against the city of Chicago over its impound practices. For years, Chicago impounded cars and demanded payment from the owners even if they personally did nothing wrong. One couple was ordered to pay fines and fees after they dropped their car off at the shop and a mechanic with a suspended license took it out for a drive.

Cities desperate for revenue will always look for ways to squeeze more money out of residents through fines and fees. But taking someones car should never be done lightly. People rely on their vehicle to earn a living and to get lifes necessities. Taking away mobility often means trapping someone in poverty. While what Wilmington did to Ameera and Earl is unconstitutional, its also counterproductive. Every city in America should look at its fines and fees policies and ask whether they are hurting their most vulnerable residents.

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The City Scrapped Her Car Over A Handful Of Tickets And Left Her With Nothing But A Bill - Forbes