Bankrupt car rental giant Hertz is facing a lawsuit alleging customers were falsely arrested due to ‘broken’ system Hertz uses to report suspected thefts of rental vehicles.
The suit claims at least 20 customers were detained and some were jailed.
It says Hertz wrongly reported rental vehicles as stolen.
Attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy says the theft accusations come from inaccurate payment information and incomplete records on rental extensions.
"Hertz’s policies and practices disproportionately condemn poor minorities to prison and prosecution, while presuming their guilt. Many of these innocent individuals — lacking money and access to effective legal services — remain wrongfully imprisoned for months," Malofiy said.
These issues arre not new as Hertz has faced lawsuits over its rental car theft reporting procedures dating back at least five years.
One customer says she spent weeks in jail ‘solely as a result of Hertz’s false police report and was only released after pleading no contest.
The suit is seeking punitive damages and compensation
The lawsuit was filed only one day before Hertz filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The action is currently on hold and Hertz has filed to block it as it could cause ‘irreparable harm’ to its efforts to restructure the business under Chapter 11 protection.
The company says the lawsuit is ‘meritless.’
