Category: Uncategorized

A recent decision in American Honda Finance Corporation v. D & G Towing and Auto Repair Service, Inc., No. 1:24-cv-12121 (D. Mass.), is an important victory for vehicle lienholders and leasing companies. Its central significance is straightforward: a tow yard that holds a police-towed vehicle as leverage to force payment of towing or storage charges …

Read more “Client Alert: Federal Court Ruling StrengthensMassachusetts Lienholder Recovery Rights”

A recent federal decision provides important support for lienholders and leasing companies confronting tow-yard demands following police- or government-directed impounds. In Santander Consumer USA, Inc. v. Incorporated Village of Hempstead, No. 22-CV-4428 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 15, 2026), the court rejected the proposition that a secured creditor abandons its interest merely by declining to pay disputed towing …

Read more “Important Federal Decision Rejects Tow-Yard “Abandonment” Tactics”

For years, the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) operated one of the most intrusive vehicle impound policies in the country. Under its “derelict vehicle” policy, the City could seize a vehicle, declare it junk, and destroy it—without ever notifying the owner, lienholder, or lessor. There was no opportunity to recover the vehicle, challenge …

Read more “Historic Victory: NYC Ends “No-Notice” Derelict Vehicle Seizures”

Protecting Lienholder Interests in an Era of Forged Titles Client Advisory Title fraud is blowing up nationwide. The usual scenario involves a vehicle being sold to an unsuspecting buyer with what appears to be a clean title—but that transaction does not extinguish a valid lienholder interest. Banks, captive finance companies, and other secured creditors need …

Read more “Weathering the Title Fraud Tsunami”

State law sometimes affords lienholders and lessors significant protections that remain underused because they are not widely understood. In this regard, we are fortunate to have a guest star for this issue—Massachusetts attorney Kevin J. Kiely, of Kiely & Ferrante, LLC, who highlights Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 255, Section 35, which provides that a lienholder …

Read more “Massachusetts Law Provides Powerful Protection for Vehicle Lienholders/Lessors”