Jermall Harvey says he had permission to park in the CVS lot at 1200 North Ashland Avenue in Chicago’s Wicker Park on Oct. 12, 2022, and ran out to stop Lincoln Towing from hauling away his car. In October, a Cook County jury awarded him $2.85 million, nearly two-thirds of it punitive damages, CWBChicago reported on Oct. 30.
According to Harvey’s lawsuit, as CWBChicago summarized it, the truck driver accelerated and Harvey jumped onto the hood as the truck entered Wicker Park traffic. Harvey alleges the truck’s passenger pointed a gun at his head and ordered him off. He stayed on the hood for more than a minute down Division Street before falling away, and Lincoln Towing left with his car, CWBChicago reported.
NBC 5 reported in 2023 that Harvey rolled away uninjured, that he had already called 911 and that Chicago police stopped the truck. The passenger told police Harvey was reaching for his waistband and that he feared for his life, NBC 5 reported. Police found no firearm on Harvey. Lincoln Towing did not respond to NBC 5’s requests for comment, and CWBChicago’s verdict story carried no statement from the company.
What Illinois law says about a tow in progress
NBC 5 reported that under Illinois law a tow must stop and the vehicle must be unhooked if the owner shows up before the tow is complete. Section 18a-300 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, which covers towing from private lots, lists removing a vehicle while its owner is present and able to take it immediately among the practices a towing company may not engage in. It also bars charges outside the rates set by the Illinois Commerce Commission and requires refunds of amounts above them.
Harvey paid Lincoln Towing $218 to get his car back, NBC 5 reported. The Illinois Commerce Commission asked the company to refund him, and NBC 5 wrote that he might never see the money.
How the punitive award compares
Nearly two-thirds of the $2.85 million is punishment, per CWBChicago, which did not give the exact dollar split. Citing the Jury Verdict Reporter, it called the award the largest reported punitive award in Cook County’s municipal districts, nearly four times the previous record, set in 1994.
A regulator had cited the company before the verdict
Harvey also filed a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission, which identified the operating company as Protective Parking Service Corporation, doing business as Lincoln Towing Service. NBC 5 reported that investigators found the passenger was not a registered towing operator and cited the company for failing to produce records and for relocating a vehicle while its owner or driver was present. The fines could reach $1,500, and an administrative hearing was set for Feb. 16, 2023.
The commission had looked at the company before. ABC7 Chicago reported that the commission voted in September 2018 to revoke Lincoln Towing’s license after finding it had not conducted business with “honesty and integrity,” and that the company’s attorney said it would keep towing while it contested the decision. In October 2022 the company was towing in Wicker Park.
Where this fits among Chicago tow disputes
One jury in one county won’t change how Chicago tows. In another Chicago case the Auto Wire covered, a car seized over $524 in tickets ended up sold to the city’s own tow contractor.
What a driver should do when a tow starts
Tell the operator the car is yours and ask them to stop and unhook it, and record the exchange from a safe spot. Do not step in front of a moving truck, because Harvey’s account shows how fast a dispute at a lot exit can escalate. Call 911 if anyone threatens you, keep every receipt, and file a complaint with the Illinois Commerce Commission, since Harvey’s complaint is how investigators obtained the CVS lot video. If the fee exceeds the commission’s rates, the statute says the difference must be refunded.
Harvey paid $218 to get his car back. A jury priced the ride at $2.85 million. Does that finally get a tow company’s attention, or does one with a 2018 license-revocation vote behind it just keep towing?