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By Brett Rowland | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A nonprofit law firm filed a suit on
behalf of an Illinois plumbing company alleging state
prosecutors indefinitely seized a work truck that was a
bystander to an auto crash.
The Liberty Justice Center, based in Texas, sued on behalf of
First Supply LLC, a family-owned plumbing and HVAC distributor
that serves the Midwest.
In January 2024, an alleged drunk driver ran a red light and
crashed his car into a First Supply delivery truck while it was
stopped at the light. The driver's passenger was killed in the
crash.
LJC said First Supply was in no way responsible for the crash,
but the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office seized First Supply's
truck from the scene as evidence. It has kept the truck for 15
months.
"The government cannot take your property without a warrant or
warrant exception – let alone indefinitely and without giving
you any way to get it back – just because you were an innocent
bystander to someone else's alleged crime," said Loren Seehase,
senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. "We look forward
to vindicating the Fourth Amendment rights of First Supply and
all innocent crime victims and bystanders."
In the complaint, LJC said First Supply has not only had to pay
for a truck it can't use, but also has had to pay for a
replacement truck. The complaint alleges First Supply must pay
thousands per month for a delivery truck that "is currently
rusting in an impound lot."
LJC sued the Winnebago Sheriff and State's Attorney on First
Supply's behalf, arguing that the seizure of the truck violates
the Fourth Amendment.
"It was hard enough to have our delivery driver be involved in a
fatal car accident," Corporate Counsel Brittney Cornillaud said.
"But to indefinitely lose our truck to impoundment hampers our
ability to make a profit and pay our employees. We never could
have expected that months would pass without getting it back,
and now we pay thousands of dollars a month extra just to serve
our customers. To add insult to injury, we've spent hours trying
to retrieve our property only to be passed from person to person
at the State's Attorney's Office, ignored by the prosecutor, and
offered no support."
The Center Square reached out to the Winnebago State's Attorney
for comment on the complaint. |
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