Federal Judiciary

Tow Trucks in the News Again

By Robert Loblaw

Automobile Club of New York, Inc. v. Dykstra, 06-1872 (2^nd Cir., March 24, 2008)

This month?s decisions have highlighted an unlikely new chapter for the constitutional law books: the law of towing. A few weeks ago, I wrote about this Ninth Circuit decision in which the Court found that a policeman?s decision to tow a car without notice violated due process. Today, the Second Circuit has written an equally interesting decision on a totally different constitutional issue: whether New York City?s regulation of tow trucks survives constitutional scrutiny.

In the bad old days of New York City, it was common practice for tow truck drivers to monitor police radios and then race each other to the scene of an accident. Because city leaders felt that this blue collar version of ambulance chasing was dangerous, they enacted a strict licensing scheme for trucks operating within city limits. In addition to bonding and insurance requirements, tow truck operators had to be fingerprinted and have a criminal background check. In order to reduce incentives to chase accidents, the City set up a system for rotating accident business among the different tow truck companies. Unlicensed tow trucks found within city limits were subject to seizure.

The system has been in place for close to two decades, and one of the biggest kinks was dealing with tow trucks from outside the City that needed to tow a car into the City. For years, the City had an amnesty program, but this fell by the wayside when the City started to get tough about enforcement. As a result, AAA had to develop a hand-off system, whereby cars being towed into New York City were met at the “border” by a licensed tow truck.  A pretty unwieldy system.

So AAA sued, asking the federal courts to strike down the City?s licensing scheme. After a trial, the district court found that the City?s scheme was preempted by federal law and that it violated the dormant commerce clause. On appeal, the Second Circuit agrees. The Court explains that although New York City may regulate tow trucks for safety reasons, the current scheme has evolved far beyond the initial safety concerns that might have justified the City?s law. Even if the City’s concerns about chasing are correct, a tow truck that chases an accident in New Jersey or Connecticut and then tows the car into New York City is not threatening the safety of New York City?s drivers and pedestrians. Accordingly, the Court affirms the decision to strike down the City?s licensing scheme.

Put the two cases together, and you have a great hypothetical for a con law exam.

Full post as published by Decision of the Day on March 24, 2008 (boomark / email).