{"id":342090,"date":"2026-07-16T12:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/342090\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:06:20","slug":"tampa-towing-company-sued-over-250-fee-charged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/342090\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa towing company sued over $250 fee charged"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges a Tampa towing company repeatedly charged drivers a $250 fee in violation of a Hillsborough County ordinance and that more than 1,000 people may have been affected.<\/p>\n

Jamie Adair’s trouble began in September 2024 with what he calls a simple mistake on date night.<\/p>\n

\"Jamie<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

He parked his Toyota Highlander on an upper floor of a Tampa parking garage, not realizing overflow parking for the restaurant where he was dining was only permitted on the two lowest levels.<\/p>\n

“We were done about 10 o’clock, came back out to the garage, and lo and behold, the car was gone,” Adair said.<\/p>\n

Adair tracked his vehicle to a Comm Tow impound lot on North Florida Avenue.<\/p>\n

He does not dispute that the vehicle was parked illegally, but he says he learned hours after the tow that he owed far more than Hillsborough County’s maximum tow rate.<\/p>\n

When he picked up his vehicle the next morning, Adair was handed a bill that included a $250 “administrative lien release fee,” bringing his total to more than $500.<\/p>\n

\"Adair<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

“I was just so mad that this, this extra fee was more than what the tow even was. I’m like this is crazy,” Adair said.<\/p>\n

What is a lien release fee?<\/p>\n

Adair hired attorney Craig Rothburd, who explained that state law permits towing companies to charge a lien release fee of up to $250.<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

WFTS<\/p>\n

“A lien release fee is a charge that the towing company can charge to someone who had their car towed up to $250,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

However, Rothburd argues the charge in Adair’s case violated a Hillsborough County towing resolution passed in 2023.<\/p>\n

“You can’t charge essentially a lien release fee until 48 hours have elapsed after the tow,” Rothburd said, citing Hillsborough County’s towing ordinance.<\/p>\n

Comm Tow says in a media statement that Florida lawmakers created the lien release fee to help towing operators recover rising costs in a heavily regulated industry.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit<\/p>\n

Rothburd filed a class-action lawsuit against Comm Tow on behalf of Adair and other drivers, alleging the company repeatedly violated the county ordinance by charging the $250 fee.<\/p>\n

\"Lawsuit<\/p>\n

Hillsborough County Clerk of Court<\/p>\n

“In this particular case, what we expect the facts will show is that they as a routine practice charge it automatically upon impound, meaning when they tow your car and bring it in, it doesn’t matter how long it is, they charged you $250,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

Rothburd believes hundreds of drivers \u2014 or more \u2014 were charged the same fee.<\/p>\n

“We believe, and again the evidence will likely show that this happened to well over 1000 people,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

Rothburd also argues the size of the fee raises broader fairness concerns.<\/p>\n

“That means you’ve got more than double the amount of the tow fee maximum in what I would term junk fees. That’sjust not right,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

“In this case, $529 for a $160 tow. I think it’s unconscionable,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

Comm Tow’s response<\/p>\n

In a statement, Comm Tow’s attorney wrote that the company acted lawfully at all times.<\/p>\n

The statement also says Comm Tow assessed the fee on “just eight occasions” in Hillsborough County and voluntarily and promptly refunded the $250 fee to each of those eight customers after the county intervened.<\/p>\n

Rothburd disputes that number.<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/p>\n

James Adair<\/p>\n

“If it was only 8 people, you could imagine how long that actually would have been in play, like an afternoon. I mean, that’s just not plausible,” Rothburd said.<\/p>\n

Adair also questions the company’s figure.<\/p>\n

“The truth is that only 8 people called the county and filed a formal complaint,” Adair said.<\/p>\n

The legal battle continues<\/p>\n

Comm Tow had previously challenged the county’s ordinance in court and lost.<\/p>\n

The company is now appealing the judge’s ruling and says it has stopped charging the administrative lien release fee while the appeal is pending.<\/p>\n

Adair says he is pursuing the class-action lawsuit because it is about more than just his own money.<\/p>\n

“I think when I see a sense of injustice, I’ve just got to speak out,” Adair said.<\/p>\n

“The poorest among us can’t pay it, and I just was too angry to let it sit,” Adair said.<\/p>\n

Adair and his attorney await discovery from Comm Tow, which they believe will show exactly how many times the fee was charged before the 48-hour window required under the county’s ordinance.<\/p>\n

How to report violations of local towing ordinances<\/p>\n

If you believe a towing company has violated local ordinances in your county, you can file a complaint with your county’s consumer protection or code enforcement office. Links to each county’s reporting page are below:<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Adam

Adam Walser has spent more than a decade fighting for what\u2019s right in Tampa Bay as part of the I-Team. He\u2019s helped expose flaws in Florida\u2019s eldercare system and held leaders accountable for questionable HOA practices. Reach out to Adam with any issue you think he needs to investigate.<\/p>\n

Send your story or tip to Adam Walser<\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n

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Paisley Skye Fratianni-Rollins died after an accident on a UTV.<\/p>\n

Family and community honor the life of 8-year-old girl killed in accident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges a Tampa towing company repeatedly charged drivers a $250 fee…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[53012,140440,10316,833,140442,135,137,136,140441,100927],"class_list":["post-342090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-adam-walser","tag-comm-tow","tag-i-team","tag-lawsuit","tag-overcharge-on-tow","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tampa-tow-issue","tag-tow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}