DOJ Sues California Towing Company Over Sale of Military Members’ Vehicles
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against a Southern California towing company, alleging it sold vehicles belonging to active-duty military personnel without required court approval.
Filed March 25 in federal court in Los Angeles, the complaint claims S & K Towing, Inc. auctioned, sold, or otherwise disposed of dozens of vehicles tied to servicemembers over several years, including as many as 148 vehicles between 2020 and 2025.
Most of the vehicles were towed from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, one of the largest military installations in the country. Court filings state the company operated there under a towing agreement and was regularly called to remove vehicles from the base and surrounding areas as part of a rotation system coordinated with military police.
The lawsuit alleges the company did not verify whether the vehicles belonged to servicemembers before selling or disposing of them. It also claims the company had no written policies or training on military protections and did not use available tools, including a Defense Department database, to check military status.
Records cited in the complaint describe vehicles showing clear signs of military ownership, including registrations tied to on-base addresses or the presence of military equipment. The filing alleges sales continued even after the company was told that some owners were in active service or deployed overseas, including after a 2024 warning from a Marine Corps legal assistance attorney that such sales require court approval under federal law.
The case centers on the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law that limits certain legal and financial actions against active-duty military personnel. Companies that have a claim against property, such as a towing or storage lien on a vehicle, must obtain court approval before selling it while the owner is in military service, or within 90 days after. A judge can delay the action or adjust what is owed to account for military duties.
California law allows towing companies to sell or dispose of impounded vehicles to recover unpaid fees. The complaint alleges that those practices are limited by federal law when the owner is an active-duty servicemember and that those limits were not followed.
Federal officials state that the actions were repeated and affected multiple servicemembers, with vehicles sold without the required legal protections.
The government is seeking damages for affected servicemembers and civil penalties, along with changes to the company’s practices, including steps to restore losses and prevent similar conduct in the future.
