On March 25, DOJ announced that it had filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging that a California-based towing company violated Section 3958(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by selling, auctioning or otherwise disposing of approximately 148 vehicles owned by servicemembers without first obtaining court orders between August 2020 and April 2025. DOJ claimed the company’s actions denied SCRA-protected servicemembers the statutory right to judicial review of lien enforcement, including potential delays or adjustments based on military service. The complaint alleges the company towed many of these vehicles from a Marine Corps base and disposed of them even when they contained military equipment, uniforms and awards; were registered to addresses on the base; or after being told the owner was in military service or deployed overseas.

According to the complaint, the company had no SCRA compliance policies or training materials and did not use the Defense Manpower Data Center database to determine military status before disposing of vehicles. The complaint further asserts that after a Marine Corps Legal Assistance attorney purportedly informed the company in May 2024 that its practices violated federal law, a manager allegedly responded, “We do this all the time,” and continued to sell vehicles belonging to servicemembers. The complaint seeks declaratory relief, monetary damages for affected servicemembers, civil penalties, and an injunction to prevent future violations.