Judge finds Tacoma towing company illegally sold active-duty service member’s car
A Tacoma towing company illegally sold vehicles of active-duty services members at auction, a judge ruled Monday.
The state Attorney General’s Office said Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Schwartz ruled that Burns Towing violated a federal law that requires companies to have a court order before they auction off vehicles owned by service members while they’re on active duty.
The Attorney General sued Burns Towing in 2018 after the company allegedly ignored a complaint from a Navy sailor.
“Under today’s court order, Burns Towing will be required to pay restitution to all service members who suffered financial losses when the company towed their car,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a news release. “There will be a hearing at a future date to determine whether Burns towing will pay an additional penalty for violating the law.”
The office said it found evidence that the company sold as many as 35 active-duty service member’s vehicles.
“Washington service members earned these important protections while they are on active duty serving our nation,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in the press release. “These men and women earned the right not to worry about their property being illegally sold while they’re serving us on active duty.”
The state sued Burns Towing after Alex Vaughn, a Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Navy, left his car at a Pierce County apartment complex when he deployed on an aircraft carrier and learned upon his return that it had been impounded and sold.
“Burns Towing failed to take reasonable steps to determine whether the vehicles it sold at auction belonged to active duty service members,” the press release said. “… After Ferguson’s lawsuit, Burns Towing began running searches to determine whether the vehicles it planned to sell at auction were registered to active duty service members.”
