Municipal Parking Services Unlawfully Obtains Driver Data from DMVs to Send Parking Bills, Class Action Alleges

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

A proposed class action claims Municipal Parking Services, Inc. (MPS) has illegally obtained and used drivers’ personal data from state departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) without consent or a valid reason.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

According to the 17-page privacy lawsuit, Municipal Parking Services provides automated parking enforcement services to the operators of thousands of parking lots and decks nationwide. Through its proprietary software and cameras equipped with license plate recognition technology, MPS tracks vehicles entering and exiting clients’ parking lots, monitors how long each vehicle stays and assesses whether the driver has paid for parking, the case relays.

The suit explains that MPS identifies alleged violators by cross-referencing their license plate numbers with state DMV vehicle registration data and sends them notices or invoices demanding payment for expired or unauthorized parking.

The case alleges that MPS has obtained consumers’ personal information from their motor vehicle records without consent and with no permissible purpose as defined under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). Per the complaint, the DPPA prohibits entities from knowingly acquiring or using protected personal data, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers, for any reason not specifically permitted under the federal law.

The filing contends that MPS unlawfully obtains and uses consumers’ statutorily protected information in an attempt to collect “outrageous” and “extortionate” penalty charges, which, according to the lawsuit, are not posted or 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,” the suit argues.

One plaintiff, an Alabama resident, claims she received one of MPS’s “surprise bills” for unknowingly parking in a lot enforced by the company for 35 minutes in November 2022. The woman says she had not realized the parking spots, which had been free for years, had become part of a paid lot managed by MPS, as there were apparently no signs or barriers present to indicate the change.

As the case tells it, the plaintiff received a “Parking Invoice” from MPS that said she owed $115 for the parking violation and threatened that, if she did not pay, the charge would increase and she would be reported to collections or have her vehicle towed or booted.

The complaint states that the letter included the plaintiff’s name, her home address, her vehicle’s make and license plate number, the parking lot location and a photo of the rear of her car, taken at the entrance of the lot.

The plaintiff alleges that she neither provided MPS with the personal data needed to identify her by name and address nor authorized the company to access her motor vehicle records.

The other plaintiff says he was assessed a $75 fee by MPS for parking behind a restaurant after being informed by the restaurant that parking in the lot was free. Per the suit, after the plaintiff appealed the ticket, MPS or one of its partners ultimately agreed that the parking invoice should not have been sent.

The MPS privacy lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States whose personal motor vehicle records—as defined by the DPPA—were maintained by a state DMV and directly obtained, used, redisclosed and/or resold by the defendant for purposes not permitted by the DPPA at any time in the past four years.

Are you owed unclaimed settlement money? Check out our class action rebates page full of open class action settlements.