Miami-Dade County Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez
MIAMI — Illegal appointment scalping and negligence by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have forced Broward County residents to wait in long lines or camp out overnight at DMV facilities to obtain needed services, a lawsuit alleges.
The $10 million class-action lawsuit was filed on June 25 in Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court. The plaintiff, 17-year-old Alexandra R. Wild, was directed by DMV employees on Jan. 9 to return to the Pompano Beach Citi Centre DMV office later that night and camp out overnight in order to access services to obtain her driver’s license, the complaint states.
The agency failed to provide adequate lighting and security to those seeking government services, causing the plaintiff to be subjected to “harassment, assault and severe emotional distress,” according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that the difficulties people have had in securing DMV appointments were caused in part by appointment scalping, which refers to how third parties using automated systems and fake accounts secure appointment times and then sell the appointments for $25 to $250 to people seeking DMV services.
“Defendants had actual or constructive knowledge of the conditions at this location and were aware that overnight stays were occurring regularly as a result of (the DMV’s) systemic failure to manage appointments, staffing and facility access,” the lawsuit states.
The DMV’s state office did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations, but the Miami-Dade County tax collector, Dariel Fernandez, who is listed as a defendant, said in a June 26 statement that the events in the lawsuit apparently all took place in Broward County. The incidents had nothing to do with his office, according to Fernandez.
“We will respond through the appropriate legal channels, if circumstances require us to do so, and at the appropriate time,” he said, adding that his office worked with local and state officials to get the Florida Legislature to pass legislation criminalizing appointment scalping and fraud.
That legislation, House Bill 961, which makes unauthorized selling of DMV service appointments a first-degree misdemeanor, was signed into law by the governor last month.
The attorney who filed the lawsuit, Michael A. Pizzi Jr. of Miami Lakes, said the DMV’s failure to address the appointment scarcity puts vulnerable populations at risk.
“The long DMV lines in Florida are worse than just a sign of gross incompetence,” Pizzi told the Florida Record in an email. “They create public health and safety hazards by putting citizens at risk for assaults due to the poor lighting and no security. They also create health hazards especially for our senior population.”
He added that appointment scalping is not the primary issue driving the problem.
“The main cause is complete negligence and incompetence by a government that has no respect for the needs of citizens,” Pizzi said.
Plaintiff Wild suffered lasting effects from her overnight experience seeking a time slot for DMV services and may have to pay for future medical care and counseling, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint seeks attorney fees, interest and court costs in addition to $10 million on behalf of the class of people affected by the alleged mismanagement of DMV appointments. The size of the class is so large that it’s impractical to estimate, according to the lawsuit.
