Scrap yard sues city over disposal law

A Colorado Springs junkyard owner says he’s losing tens of thousands of dollars because of how Colorado Springs police define “motor vehicle.”

Metal Management West owners contend in a lawsuit that Colorado Springs police are unfairly targeting them with a new law designed to thwart car thieves from selling hot cars.

“Law enforcement officers are exceeding and abusing their authority in their manner of enforcement of these laws against” Metal Management, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit attacks the law, called “Disposal for Scrapping,” for being vague and not clearly defining a “motor vehicle.”

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the city of Colorado Springs, Police Chief Richard Myers, El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, 4th Judicial District Attorney John Newsome and Attorney General John Suthers.

The law, which took effect in 2006, states that anyone selling a motor vehicle to a scrap yard must be named on the title, or show a bill of sale on a Department of Revenue form. In addition, scrap-yard managers must hold such vehicles for seven days before crushing or disposing of them.

Metal Management “is turning away customers without title, losing an average of $20,000-$30,000 worth of business,” the lawsuit states.

Managers at Metal Management, 2690 E. Las Vegas St., relied on the definition of a car in the law: “Any vehicle of whatever description propelled by any power other than muscular, except a vehicle running on rails.”

So in April when a customer brought in the shell of a van with “no engine, no transmission, no doors, no windows, no seats, no wheels, no axles and with only one fender,” managers didn’t think it fit the description, the suit states.

Colorado Springs police had been watching the business because of “several complaints of illegal business practices,” according to the lawsuit.

In June, police cited manager Tim Oliver with a misdemeanor, alleging he violated the scrapping law for taking the van shell without proper paperwork.

That case is scheduled to go to trial next month.

“We are really trying to figure out what the state of Colorado considers a motor vehicle,” Oliver wrote to the police in an e-mail. “This is the definition and my question is if a motor vehicle does not have a power source, how can it be considered a motor vehicle?”

Because of the lawsuit, police could not comment on what they consider a motor vehicle, according to police spokesman Lt. Skip Arms.

But when the City Council voted last month to defend Myers, it stated: “That term (motor vehicle) is actually defined elsewhere in the statute and is stated as being applicable to this provision,” according to a memo written by a city attorney. “Also, it appears that all law enforcement agencies have adopted the same construction of the definition of motor vehicle and that construction is reasonable.”

For its part, Metal Management owners said they’re rejecting business left and right out of a “fear that its employees will face criminal penalties.”

“Plaintiff made every effort to abide by the new law and expressed its frustration to law enforcement that the law was not being enforced against its metals recycling competitors,” the lawsuit states. “Competitors were purchasing motor vehicles, without titles for scrap.”

In an answer to the lawsuit, Colorado Springs asserted it is immune under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.

No trial date has been set.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0110 or dennis.huspeni@gazette.com