Illegal car seizures violated drivers’ constitutional rights: judge

Original Article Featured on The New York Post

The city Taxi & Limousine Commission violated ​the constitutional rights of ​​ drivers by illegally seizing their cars, a ​Manhattan ​federal judge ruled ​Thursday.

​The ​TLC ​officers have ​been taking the cars of drivers ​they believed were acting as cabbies​ without a hack’s license​, as well as the cars of Uber drivers suspected of driving outside the scope of their licenses.

The vehicles were held until the owners either plead​ed​ guilty and pa​id a fine or post​ed a bond equal to the highest possible penalty.

​In her ruling, ​Judge Valerie Caproni said grabbing drivers’ cars violated their 14th and Fourth amendment rights to due process ​and freedom from unreasonable seizure.

Five ​car owners sued TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi, Deputy Commissioner Raymond Scanlon and the city last fall after their cars were seized​. They are just a fraction of the up to 8,000 cars the TLC seizes per year.

“It’s a whole scam,” said Uber driver Michael Krepak, whose car was seized at Kennedy Airport last month. “They are doing it to hundreds of people a day and taking advantage of working people.”

TLC officials said they have instructed their officers to immediately stop seizing cars while the agency ponders its next move.

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