Peoples Auto Parking Class Action: Did They Illegally Access Your DMV Data?

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Peoples Auto Parking, alleging that the company illegally accessed and used driver information from DMV records.

Consumers Affected: Individuals whose personal information was accessed by Peoples Auto Parking using ALPR technology.

Court: Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Chancery Division

Peoples Auto Parking Company, which operates self-service parking lots throughout downtown Chicago, is facing a class action lawsuit alleging that it unlawfully obtained and used drivers' personal information from departments of motor vehicles (DMVs) without authorization. 

The lawsuit, filed by Ramon Soto in an Illinois federal court, claims that the company violated the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) by accessing and using drivers' personal information without their consent or a legitimate purpose.  

Soto alleges that Peoples Auto Parking uses automated license plate recognition (ALPR) technology to capture the license plate numbers of vehicles entering its parking lots. The company then uses this information to access drivers' motor vehicle records, which include their names and addresses, to mail them parking citations.

Lawsuit Claims Peoples Auto Parking Violated Driver's Privacy Protection Act

The DPPA was enacted in 1994 to protect the privacy of personal information contained in state motor vehicle records. The Act prohibits entities from knowingly obtaining personal information from these records without express consent or a permissible purpose as defined by the law. Permissible purposes include activities such as law enforcement, insurance underwriting, and vehicle recalls.

The lawsuit contends that Peoples Auto Parking's use of ALPR technology and subsequent access to DMV records does not fall under any of the permissible purposes outlined in the DPPA. Soto argues that the company obtained his name and address from his motor vehicle record without his consent and used this information to send him a parking citation.

"While the use of ALPR, or systems like it, is not inherently in violation of the law, the use of this information to obtain motor vehicle records associated with such license plate numbers is," the lawsuit states.

Soto claims that he never provided Peoples Auto Parking with his personal information and that the company could only have obtained it by illegally accessing his DMV records.

Other Parking Companies Facing Similar Allegations

Peoples Auto Parking isn't the only parking lot company facing legal action over the use of ALPR technology and access to DMV records.

In August 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed against Florida-based Parking Revenue Recovery, alleging that the company illegally obtained personal information from motor vehicle records without consent and used the data to send parking tickets to people's homes. The lawsuit claims that Parking Revenue Recovery's practices violate the DPPA by accessing and utilizing drivers' personal information without a permissible purpose.

In 2020, data broker LexisNexis reached a settlement of over $5 million to end class action claims under the DPPA that the company sold DMV data to law firms, which then used it for their own business purposes.

In the Peoples Auto Parking class action lawsuit, Soto aims to represent anyone in the United States whose personal motor vehicle records were obtained, disclosed, used, redisclosed, or resold by Peoples Auto Parking without their express written consent.

He is seeking actual damages, statutory damages, and a permanent injunction to prevent Peoples Auto Parking from engaging in these practices in the future.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Soto v. Peoples Auto Parking Company
• Case Number: 1:24-cv-08826
• Court: Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Chancery Division

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Eugene Y. Turin and William Kingston (McGuire Law, P.C.) 

Have you received a parking citation from Peoples Auto Parking or another company that you believe may have obtained your information without your consent? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below.