The Justice Department has filed suit against a California towing company for allegedly illegally auctioning off service members’ vehicles — many of which had been towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Justice officials allege that S & K Towing Inc., of San Clemente, California, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by selling or disposing of as many as 148 vehicles without a court order, even when they knew, or should have known, that the vehicles were owned by military members.
Some of the vehicles were registered to addresses on Camp Pendleton, including rooms in the barracks. In other cases, the company auctioned off vehicles even after being told the owner was in the military, according to Justice officials. Some of the vehicles contained military equipment, uniforms and awards.
The lawsuit, filed March 25 in federal court in the Central District of California, alleges that S&K Towing Inc. towed hundreds of vehicles from the base from Aug. 28, 2020, through at least April 15, 2025, under a memorandum of agreement with the base to respond to calls for towing services made by the base police department. The alleged illegal auctions or disposals of the vehicles also occurred during that time frame.
Justice officials asked the court to rule that the company violated the SCRA; to award appropriate monetary damages to the service members, and take other steps needed for restitution; to order the company to take steps to eliminate future illegal conduct; and to assess civil penalties.
According to California law, when law enforcement or a governmental agency directs the removal of a vehicle to a storage facility, the receiving facility holds a garageman’s lien against the vehicle.
The facility may enforce its lien by conducting a public sale of the vehicle or by disposing of the vehicle to a licensed dismantler or scrap iron processor. While operating its business, S & K Towing — which also operates a vehicle storage facility — regularly enforced its liens by selling motor vehicles through public lien sales or to dismantlers or scrap iron processors, according to the lawsuit.
“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, in the announcement of the legal action.
“Service members are often absent for extended periods due to training and deployments and may not know that their vehicle has been towed,” she stated. “The SCRA plays an important role in providing these service members with adequate legal protections, including notice and the opportunity to have towing and storage fees adjusted in light of their military service.”
When reached by telephone, S & K Towing declined to comment about the allegations in the lawsuit, nor did they have any comment about whether S & K Towing still has an agreement with Camp Pendleton to provide towing services. Information was not immediately available from base officials about whether that agreement is still in effect.
The agreement required S & K Towing to comply with all applicable state and federal laws, but Justice officials said the company had no SCRA policies or training materials and took no steps to verify owners’ military status before selling or disposing of the towed vehicles.
An automated database run by the Defense Manpower Data Center and provided by the Defense Department is intended to help lienholders and others check whether individuals are protected by the SCRA.
A military legal assistance attorney at Camp Pendleton notified S & K Towing by letter and by phone in May 2024 that they were violating the law by selling or disposing of service members’ vehicles without a court order. The person who identified himself as a manager/owner of S & K Towing responded by saying, “We do this all the time,” according to the lawsuit.
Then, Justice officials contend, after that notification, S & K Towing continued to sell and dispose of service members’ vehicles without getting court orders.
Justice officials urge service members and dependents who believe their SCRA rights have been violated to contact their military legal assistance office. Contact information can be found at legalassistance.law.af.mil/.
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
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