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Municipal Parking Services Unlawfully Obtains Driver Data from DMVs to Send Parking Bills
Municipal Parking Services
Pittman, Dutton, Hellums, Bradley & Mann, P.C. is investigating any parking enforcement company who may have violated a federal statute named the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), which protects your private motor vehicle records. We recently filed a lawsuit against Municipal Parking Services for this alleged privacy violation. We are also currently investigating Premium Parking for the same allegations.
Class Action Alleges Municipal Parking Services, Inc. Misuses Drivers’ Personal Data
We have filed a class action lawsuit against Municipal Parking Services, Inc. (“MPS”) for unlawfully acquiring and using drivers’ personal and private data from state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) without obtaining consent or a valid reason.
Details of the Privacy Lawsuit
Our 17-page complaint outlines how MPS provides automated parking enforcement services to numerous parking lot operators across the country. Using its proprietary software and cameras equipped with license plate recognition technology, MPS monitors vehicles entering and exiting parking lots, tracks the duration of each stay, and checks whether drivers have paid for parking.
We explain that MPS identifies alleged violators by cross-referencing their license plate numbers with state DMV vehicle registration data, subsequently sending notices or invoices (or “tickets”) demanding payment for purported expired or unauthorized parking.
Allegations of Illegal Data Use
Our lawsuit alleges that MPS has accessed consumers’ personal information from motor vehicle records without consent and without a permissible purpose under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). The DPPA prohibits individuals or companies from acquiring or using protected personal data, such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers, for reasons not explicitly permitted under federal law.
Our complaint contends that MPS unlawfully accesses and uses this protected information to collect “outrageous” and “extortionate” penalty charges, which are not disclosed at the parking lots. “MPS’s entire business model is based on willfully and recklessly ignoring the privacy protections afforded by the DPPA so it can harass consumers into paying them money,” we argue in the suit.
Plaintiffs’ Experiences
One of our clients, a resident of Alabama, received a surprise bill from MPS for unknowingly parking in a lot enforced by the company for 35 minutes in November 2022. She was unaware that the previously free parking spots had become part of a paid lot managed by MPS, as there were no signs or barriers indicating the change.
She received a “Parking Invoice” from MPS demanding $115 for the violation, threatening that the charge would increase and she would be reported to collections or have her vehicle towed or booted if she did not pay. The letter included her personal information, such as her name, home address, vehicle make, license plate number, parking lot location, and a photo of her car’s rear taken at the lot’s entrance.
Our client alleges that she neither provided MPS with the personal data needed to identify her nor authorized or consented to the company accessing and using her private motor vehicle records.
Another client was charged a $75 fee by MPS for parking behind a restaurant, despite being told by the restaurant that parking in the lot was free. After appealing the ticket, MPS or its partner eventually agreed the invoice should not have been sent.
Seeking Representation for Affected Individuals
We aim to represent anyone in the United States whose personal information was accessed without consent from motor vehicle records, as defined by the DPPA, and whose personal information was obtained, used, redisclosed, and/or resold by MPS without consent or for purposes not permitted by the DPPA within the past four years.
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