JACKSON — City of Calverton Park residents are alleging an illegal towing scheme targets vulnerable residents.
Christina Lynn Reise, individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated persons, and others filed a complaint Oct. 13 in federal court against the City of Calverton Park and Sean Gibbons, in his official capacity alleging violation of the Fourth, Fourteenth Amendments and other claims.
According to the plaintiffs' potential class action complaint, their cars were towed from private property after being parked adjacent to their residences. They claim the vehicles did not interfere with any public way and did not present a safety hazard. The plaintiffs allege the defendants "unlawfully secured general administrative warrants" and that in order to retrieve their cars, they had to pay a private towing company for towing and storage in addition to paying a fee to Calverton park.
The plaintiffs claim the defendants also imposed a special tax bill on them to reimburse the city for costs associated with their towing which had nothing to do with the city's actual costs. They allege the city's conduct targets vulnerable residents who had not updated their car registration because they could not afford emissions or safety repairs.
The plaintiffs seek monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Maureen Hanlon, Lee Camp, Nicholas Wanger of Archcity Defenders Inc. in St. Louis.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number 4:23-CV-01335-SEP