Seattle Loses Case After Impounding Homeless Man's Car

SEATTLE, WA -- A judge ruled in favor of a homeless Seattle man on Monday after the city impounded his truck that was used as a home. Officials now say the ruling will affect thousands of other homeless people living inside their vehicles.

Steven Long's truck was impounded in 2017 after it had been reportedly parked on a street for too long. Long was unable to pay the $900 fees to get his truck back, prompting a legal battle against the city, KIRO 7 reported.

"King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer ruled that the city's impoundment of Long's truck violated the state's homestead act -- a frontier-era law that protects properties from forced sale -- because he was using it as a home. Long's vehicle was slated to be sold had he not entered into a monthly payment plan with the city," according to Governing.com. "Shaffer also ruled the fees the city required Long, 58, to pay to retrieve the truck were too high, violating constitutional protections against excessive fines."

Assistant City Attorney Michael Ryan told Governing.com that it puts city employees in a bind because "they can't definitively determine whether a vehicle is simply abandoned or is someone's home."

Governing.com reported that "more than 2,300 people were living in their vehicles on the night of King County's 2017 homeless point-in-time count -- 20 percent of the county's homeless population."

For now, Long is just thankful to have his truck back and hopes other homeless people won't be hurt the same way.

"Hope they would never have to see or do what I had to live through," Long told KIRO 7.

--Photo via Shutterstock