I'm being stopped from selling my car over driveway rule – it's parked legally but I still got fine over 'for sale' sign | 9Q99B68 | 2024-04-25 12:08:01
A DRIVER said he was hit with a fine after he attempted to sell his truck before he moved abroad to travel.
Will Cramer, from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, around 70 miles north of Philadelphia, filed a lawsuit against his borough over a 33-year-old law.
Cramer had placed a "for sale" sign on his 1987 Chevy Deluxe after failing to sell it online.
The retired teacher said he was looking to sell his car as he wanted to travel to the Philippines for a year to teach English, according to the Institute for Justice.
Cramer claimed he received a parking ticket in October 2023 that noted he violated his area's rule against parking vehicles for sale on the road, according to the lawsuit.
This lawsuit also argued that Cramer's vehicle was otherwise parked legally on the public street.
The driver said he didn't have a driveway and was left with no other choice.
Despite this, the local ordinance prohibited a car from being parked on the street to sell.
Cramer removed the sign after his fine and said he had found a buyer before then, but refused to pay the fine.
The driver reportedly also wanted to use this method to sell his Buick.
He filed a case against his borough at a local magistrate and argued the rule had violated his First Amendment right.
The judge did not agree and required Cramer to pay $123.75 in fines and court fees, according to court documents.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> He then took his constitutional case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and filed his suit on April 9, with the Institute of Justice.
This suit sought to place a permanent ban in Nazareth against the ordinance.
"It made no sense to me that I could park my truck on the street legally, but as soon as I put a for-sale sign in the window, it became illegal," he said.
"This lawsuit is bigger than me, it's about standing up for the free speech rights of everybody in Nazareth."
</div> </div> In his constitutional lawsuit, Cramer argued he did not violate the ordinance as he did not park for the purpose of selling his car.
The lawsuit also argued that he had "a First Amendment right to use a sign in his car window to tell the public that it is for sale," according to court documents.
Borough Council President Daniel Chiavaroli said this ordinance has been in place since 1991, according to Lehigh Valley Live.
He said at the time, one resident would buy worse-for-wear vehicles to fix and sell on.
"They'd constantly have two, three vehicles out there at a time," Chiavaroli said.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Borough of Nazareth and the Institute for Justice for comment.
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