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ELECTRONICALLY FILED
6/26/2019 4:27 PM
02-CV-2019-901773.00
CIRCUIT COURT OF
MOBILE COUNTY, ALABAMA
JOJO SCHWARZAUER, CLERK
STATE OF ALABAMA, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Case No: __________________
)
MICHAEL C. SELLERS, HEATHER )
WRIGHT SELLERS, ANYTIME )
TOWING AND RECOVERY, LLC, )
ANYTIME TOWING, LLC, and )
RAPID TOWING LLC a/k/a )
ANYTIME TOWING, )
)
)
Defendants. )
The State of Alabama, by and through the District Attorney for the Thirteenth
Judicial Circuit, brings this Complaint to seek relief for unlawful activities associated with
the operation of local towing companies operating in Mobile County under the ownership
and/or management of Michael C. Sellers and/or his wife, Heather Wright Sellers. Those
Mobile County business entities include Anytime Towing and Recovery, LLC, Anytime
Towing, LLC, and Rapid Towing LLC a/k/a Anytime Towing. Upon information and
I. Introduction
“Predatory towing” is a growing problem around the United States, in Alabama, and
within Mobile County. Predatory towing involves the unsavory trade practices of
unaffiliated private towing companies and can take the form of several specific practices
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– all designed to impermissibly and illegally artificially extract excessive fees from
Certain common, but deceptive, practices revolve around acquiring cars to be towed.
These practices can involve both towing illegally parked cars in private parking lots
without permission and/or towing legally parked cars. Other predatory practices involve
fraudulent and/or deceptive methods of bloating storage fees by limiting the consumer’s
ability to reasonably retrieve their vehicle. These typically take the form of “musical
chair” access hours, the refusal to take any payment except cash, and delays in notifying
consumers that their vehicles are in the possession of the towing company. Because of
the nonconsensual nature of predatory towing, consumers are left in the vulnerable
position of being forced into acquiescing to terms under duress just in order to retrieve
their vehicles from a company that they would have never voluntarily agreed to do
business with.
Locally, Michael and Heather Sellers are at the center of a predatory towing ring. The
couple operate and/or have operated a number of towing companies in Mobile County.1
At first blush these towing companies might be mistaken for reputable small businesses;
however, they are actually a blight on the community and a black-eye to other local
towing services. These companies have been the subject of more than 20 Better Business
Bureau complaints (with nearly as many on other webpage review sites), two criminal
prosecutions, and several lawsuits arising out of their illegal and unsavory business
1Defendants use these corporate and trade names, along with unmarked tow trucks, to play a game of “Three Card
Monty,” wherein consumers are never sure which company they are dealing with.
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practices. Indeed, over several years, the Sellers’ conduct has only grown more brazen.
What started with towing vehicles from apartment complexes without authorization,
charging excessive recovery fees, imposing vehicle “access fees,” and utilizing
purposeful measures to artificially inflate storage fees (e.g. not answering phone calls and
unreasonably short windows of retrieval time) has escalated into attempting to parlay a
known stolen vehicle into illegal payday against the consumer, recklessly damaging
towed vehicles, lying to investigators, suborning forgery, and falsely imprisoning a law
enforcement officer. However, the hallmark of their unsavory practices is forcing vehicle
purporting to release the company from any legal liability arising out of their fraudulent
In February 2019, the State sent a subpoenas to Anytime Towing and Rapid Towing,
“Vehicle/Proper Release” forms and customer complaints. Counsel for Anytime Towing
and Rapid Towing objected in a letter on 5th Amendment grounds, despite that objection
not being available to business entities. On or about May 28, 2019, the State send a
Deceptive Trade Practices notice letter to the Defendants (with courtesy copies to their
corporate lawyers) providing them with an opportunity for pre-suit resolution. There was
Accordingly, under the authority of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the State seeks
relief prohibiting them from any future involvement in the towing business in Alabama.
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II. Jurisdiction
This action is brought by Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich, through her
undersigned assistant district attorney, in the name of the State of Alabama and under the
authority of Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Ala. Code § 8-19-8. Jurisdiction
is proper in the Circuit Court of Mobile County because the Code of Alabama authorizes
the District Attorney to initiate a suit against any person(s) who has engaged in, is
engaging in, or is about to engage in any act or practice declared to be unlawful under the
Deceptive Trade Practices Act. See § 8. Further, the acts and practices at issue took place
in and/or originated in Mobile County, and the Alabama Legislature has authorized this
Court to hear actions for temporary and permanent injunctive relief. Ala. Code § 12-11-
31.
III. Defendants
7318 Cherokee Trail, Theodore, Alabama, and upon information and belief is an
employee and/or co-owner of Anytime Towing and Recovery, LLC, Anytime Towing,
LLC, and Rapid Towing LLC a/k/a Anytime Towing. He is being sued in his individual
capacity.
residing at 7318 Cherokee Trail, Theodore, Alabama, and upon information and belief is
an employee and/or co-owner of Anytime Towing and Recovery, LLC, Anytime Towing,
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LLC, and Rapid Towing LLC a/k/a Anytime Towing. She is being sued in her individual
capacity.
July 2015 and operated as a vehicle towing company with its principal place of business
located at 7960 Two Mile Road, Irvington, Alabama. According to the Alabama
Secretary of State, the registered member is Michael Sellers. On or about June 22, 2016,
Anytime Towing, LLC resolved to change its name to Rapid Towing, LLC. Its organizer
corporation in or around June 2016 (after a name change from Anytime Towing, LLC.)
and operates as a vehicle towing company with its principal place of business located at
7960 Two Mile Road, Irvington, Alabama. Its organizer and registered agent is Mike
Sellers.
corporation in or around July 2010 and operated as a vehicle towing company with its
principle business address listed as 5300 Halls Mill Road, Suite H-123, Mobile, Alabama.
Its organizer and registered agent was Heather Sellers. It was dissolved by Heather
6. Mike Sellers has also reserved the corporate name Anytime Towing &
Recover 1 LLC on or about March 20, 2018. As of the filing of this complaint it is
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Anytime Towing, LLC, and Rapid Towing LLC a/k/a Anytime Towing, shall be
8. Since 2010 Mike and Heather Sellers have operated in the towing business,
having formed various companies and d/b/a names which generally identify the business
authorization, charging excessive recovery fees, charging vehicle “access fees,” and
purposeful measures to artificially inflate storage fees (e.g. not answering phone calls and
unreasonably short windows of retrieval time) has escalated into attempting to parlay a
known stolen vehicle into illegal payday, reckless inflicting personal injury upon vehicle
owners and property damage upon their vehicles, lying to investigators, suborning
Representative Victims
Roussos was towed by the Defendants from the Palladium Apartments located at 2225
Leroy Stevens Road in Mobile County. Roussos had stopped by the apartment complex
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11. Upon returning to the parking lot, Clarissa was informed by an individual
that her vehicle had been towed. Within five minutes of the tow, Roussos had contacted
the Defendants who informed her that she could not retrieve the vehicle until the
following day and then only between the hours of 1 p.m. and 3 p.m..
12. The following day Roussos and her father (Harry Roussos) travelled to the
Defendants’ compound lot located in Irvington and dealt with a female employee.
Roussos was made to present proof of insurance and registration and paid the $250.00
• release the Defendants from all claims from the time of towing;
• release Defendants and their agents from all claims arising out of the
tow and storage; and
• make the registered owner “responsible for any and all fees
associated with any possible legal matters involving the vehicle
described, including but not limited to, court costs, attorney fees, and
lost time from work, etc.”
14. Roussos and her father attempted to note on the waiver that they were
signing the document under protest. Defendants’ personnel refused and made the
15. Moreover, at no time prior to the execution of the waiver were the
16. Upon regaining possession of the vehicle, the Roussoses determined that
the vehicle had in fact suffered damage to the tires and power steering as a result of the
tow.
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17. The damage suffered to Clarissa’s vehicle caused her not to be able to
engage in her job where she runs errands for her father’s business, which in turn
18. Accordingly, the Roussoses were the victims of the Defendants coercive
measures and made to sign a release that they were not legally required to do.
19. The illicit conduct of the Defendants with regard to Clarissa Roussos is not
an outlier but the standard business practice of the Defendants over a number of years as
Julian Nettles
20. On or about Saturday, October 24, 2015, Julian Nettles, an MPD officer,
returned to his residence located at Arlington Park Apartments, 7070 Grelot Road
Mobile, Alabama – where he served as a courtesy officer – and found that his vehicle, a
2010 bronze Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up truck, was missing. His vehicle was legally
parked on the property, backed into a parking space near the residents’ mail box located
his vehicle and then called the Mobile Police Department in a further effort to locate his
vehicle. An MPD operator informed him that Anytime Towing towed the vehicles from
Arlington Park Apartments who confirmed that Arlington Park Apartments had not
authorized his vehicle to be towed from the property. She was also unaware of any
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contract or agreement with Anytime Towing that would allow them to remove vehicle
23. Nettles then spoke by phone to a female at Anytime Towing who claimed
that the company had a “contract to tow vehicles off their property” and that “the only
way you [Nettles] are going to get your vehicle is to come and pay for it.” Nettles
informed the female that he was not going to pay anything because the vehicle was
removed illegally. The female lashed back “we have a contract” and ended the
conversation.
24. On or about Sunday, October 25, 2015, Christi Bodkin of Arlington Park
Apartments contacted Anytime Towing directing them to fax a copy of the alleged
contract to Arlington Park Apartments and banned them from the property until they
25. On or about Monday, October 26, 2015, Nettles went to Anytime Towing’s
compound lot located at 7960 Two Mile Road, Irvington, and spoke to Christian Wright,
a representative for Anytime Towing. He asked Christian Wright what was the status of
his vehicle and whether it would be returned to him forthwith because it was an illegal
tow. Wright then called his “boss” stating that the courtesy officer from Arlington Park
Apartments was inquiring about his vehicle. After the phone call, Christian Wright stated
that the “boss” had been unable to find the contract and that Nettles needed to check back
later.
26. On or about Tuesday, October 27, 2015, Nettles contacted Christi Bodkin
with Arlington Park Apartments. Christi stated that she had called Anytime Towing and
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that Anytime Towing had told her that they could not find the contract. Christi further
advised Nettles that he could go to Anytime Towing and pick my vehicle up free of
charge.
27. That same day, Nettles and his eight-months-pregnant fiancée went to
Anytime Towing and attempted to retrieve his vehicle. Personnel at Anytime were open-
carrying sidearm firearm weaponry. He spoke with Christian Wright, who requested
Nettles’ driver’s license and then presented Nettles with an agreement to sign before he
would release his vehicle. Nettles was reluctant to sign the agreement, as Anytime
Towing had illegally taken possession of his vehicle because it had no contract with
Arlington. Therefore, he wrote his own terms and conditions on the vehicle/property
release. Christian Wright then turned over the vehicle over to Nettles.
28. At approximately 5:15 p.m. Nettles got inside of his vehicle and pulled to
the front of the yard where he discovered that the gate had been locked intentionally to
prevent him from leaving. Christian Wright approached Nettles and stated that he could
not leave their property until Nettles signed a vehicle/property release without attempting
any modifications.
29. Nettles exited his vehicle and walked to the other side of the gate. Wright
stated his “boss” was on the way. While waiting, Nettles called the Mobile County
Sheriff’s Office and requested that a deputy respond to the scene to document the
incident. After notifying Christian Wright that a deputy was en route, Christian Wright –
after consultation with his “boss” – then ejected Nettles from property because the
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business closed at 5:00 p.m. He also threatened that if Nettles refused to leave he was
30. Christian Wright refused to provide his name upon Nettles’ request. Nettles
responded by taking pictures of Wright talking to his “boss.” Wright then stated again
31. Nettles responded that he had been invited onto their property lawfully to
get his vehicle and that they were depriving him of his property. Nettles then exited the
property and waited on the public right away in front of the business for the Deputy to
arrive.
32. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene to document the
incident. While Nettles was providing information to the deputy, Mike Sellers arrived and
attempted to coerce Nettles into signing the vehicle/property release. Sellers stated that it
was only a damage waiver and Nettles could still do whatever he wanted to.
33. Nettles told Sellers that Nettles had already signed the vehicle/property
release once and that the physical possession of the vehicle had been given to Nettles
before he was made to get out of the vehicle and ejected from the property.
34. Nettles asked Sellers for a copy of the signed vehicle/property release and
Sellers responded that it had been shredded. Sellers finally threatened that if Nettles did
not sign a new vehicle/property release the vehicle was not going to be released. Nettles
stated that he was not going to sign another agreement and he left the property.
35. On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, Michael Sellers called Nettles and told
him could come and pick up the vehicle free of charge and without signing another
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agreement. Upon picking up the vehicle Christian Wright gave Nettles a copy of the
Towing and Arlington Park Apartments to Mobile Police Department Detective Mona
Wade. During the course of her investigation Wade determined that the contract was a
forgery.
Aladine Amraous
Notch Kroner Road was contacted by a neighbor that cars were being towed from his
place of residence.
38. Assuming he was being robbed, Amraous called the police and confronted
a gang of putative thieves (determined to be Mike Sellers and his employees) with an
assault rifle. Sellers and his men were likewise armed and a stand-off ensued.
39. Police arrived and began to take statements. Sellers claim that he was
40. Amraous stated he had lived at the location for three years and that the
property-owner, Thang Doan resides in Canada. Amraous showed a receipt and a text
receipt from Doan showing he had paid his rent on the previous day and that there had
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41. Thereafter Mike Sellers admitted to police that he was acting without any
form of official order allowing him to remove the vehicles. He was unable to give an
answer about how he had obtained proper authority to tow the vehicles. He admitted that
orders and also admitted to sending his drivers to the residence to collect the cars
42. Police required Sellers to then return the six vehicles which were taken
43. Additionally, when checking Sellers’ driver's license, an “ICE alert” was
discovered showing that Sellers is a convicted felon and is not allowed to possess a
firearm. Sellers was in fact carrying a 9mm Springfield XD pistol holstered on his right
hip containing seven rounds in the magazine with one round which was chambered.
45. In short, Sellers and his company knowingly attempted to obtain vehicles
off private property without any authorization while brandishing a weapon which he was
46. On or about September 21, 2017, pizza deliveryman Toby Connell had his
2002 Honda Accord, registered to his mother Elizabeth Connell, stolen while making a
delivery.
47. On or about October 27, 2017, Elizabeth. Connell received a certified letter
from the Alabama State Department of Revenue informing her that her stolen vehicle was
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abandoned vehicle. She stated that she also received a letter from “Rapid Towing” stating
that they were in possession of her vehicle and they towed it from Townhouse Square
$1,145.00 which included $375.00 for towing and $770.00 for 22 days’ storage.
48. On October 30, 2017, Mobile Police Detective Raymond Grissett met
Mike Sellers. Sellers stated that the Defendants had a contract to tow illegally parked and
abandoned vehicles from the Townhouse Square Apartments property and were contacted
49. Sellers stated that they contacted Mobile Police Department Operator #10
to check if the vehicle was stolen and he stated that they told him it was not stolen.
Accord VIN # 1HGCG16512A061888 was reported stolen prior to towing the vehicle.
RCO Montero determined that after checking the shift reports for October 2nd, she stated
that no one called inquiring about the vehicle and that Operator #10 was not even
51. Later Detective Grissett obtained a copy of the tow slip showing that
Freedom Towing towed the vehicle at the request of the Defendants. On October 31,
2017, Detective Grissett contacted Sammy McCloskey of Freedom Towing who stated
that they did in fact tow the vehicle on behalf of Rapid Towing but that Rapid Towing
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52. Thereafter Detective Grissett determined that “Rapid Towing” had entered
53. Despite knowing that the Honda was stolen, the Defendants attempted to
scam the Connells into paying towing costs and storage fees.
54. On or around November 11, 2018, the Defendants towed a 2004 Suzuki
Aerio belonging to Alexis Pickett from the Azalea Pointe Apartments located at 651
contacted the apartment complex manager regarding the tow and was told that “Anytime”
56. Tiffany Pickett then attempted to reach Anytime Towing. She called their
offices around 2 p.m, there was no answer, and she left a message. She received a return
call around 3:30 p.m. informing her they were closed for the day.
57. On or around November 13, 2018, Tiffany Pickett, called the Defendants
spoke with a female who stated “she was the only person there” and Tiffany Prickett “had
to wait until after 2pm when someone was there” to reclaim the vehicle. The female also
provided Pickett with the address of 7401 Half Mile Road in Irvington, Alabama.
58. When Tiffany Pickett arrived at 7401 Half Mile Road, she was informed by
a person at that location that the Defendants had abandoned that location years before,
and that she was the third person to who had come that day looking for “Anytime.”
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Thereafter Tiffany Pickett was able to obtain the Defendants’ 7960 Two Mile Road
address.
7960 Two Mile Road location. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Pickett called to confirm that
the Defendants were open and she stated she was on the way. While en route, Pickett
received a return call from the Defendants inquiring how far away she was. She replied
that she was about seven minutes away according to her GPS.
60. When she arrived, Pickett saw the gate was closed and a note was posted
stating the Defendants were “closed due to an emergency.” However, she noticed that the
business appeared to be opened behind the locked gates. She made several more attempts
to contact them by phone with no answer. However, when she called from her husband’s
number they answered, but once they determined it was Pickett they ended the call and
refused to answer again. Calling from Alexis Pickett’s phone resulted in the same
repeated behavior.
61. On or around November 15, 2018, Tiffany Pickett was able to gain entrance
onto the Defendants’ property. After going inside and explaining her experience, she was
told to “just pay the f****** money and to stop griping.” The Defendants then
threatened Pickett by stating that they would be back at Azalea Pointe Apartments that
night and that Pickett “needed to be careful” or it “could get expensive for her.”
62. On or around December 18, 2018, Alana Wiley Walker appeared at the
impound lot of Anytime Towing to retrieve her vehicle which had been towed.
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63. Walker was informed by employee Christian Wright that he vehicle would
65. Given the above paragraphs and under the authority conferred upon it by
State law, the State alleges that the Defendants committed the following acts in violation
of State law.
66. The State adopts and incorporates its introduction and paragraphs 1-65 as if
deceitful, fraudulent and unlawful towing of vehicles, and false, misleading, deceptive,
and/or coercive acts designed to force consumers to sign a release from legal liability.3
Through this course of conduct, the Defendants violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act
thusly by:
2
In addition to the consumers listed it is expected that discovery will yield hundreds more consumers
made to sign the release form in favor of the Defendants.
3
The practice of deceiving and/or coercing consumers into signing is not a violation in the abstract. The
Defendants have attempted to use the release as a basis for affirmative defense and/or a counter-claim of
attorney fees in small claims court cases.
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68. The State adopts and incorporates the introduction and paragraphs 1-67 as
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g. and any other appropriate relief as this Honorable Court deems just
and proper.
Ashley Rich
District Attorney
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Heather Sellers
7318 Cherokee Trail West
Theodore, AL 36582
Michael Sellers
7318 Cherokee Trail West
Theodore, AL 36582
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