A family has filed suit against carmaker Volkswagen, accusing the company of refusing to help the police track down their stolen car after the family was carjacked in Libertyville, unless the family paid a fee to VW to enable location tracking.
The carjacking occurred on Feb. 23 in suburban Libertyville in Lake County, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Taylor Shepherd had just returned home and had taken one child inside, while a second one remained in the car, the suit states. An assailant pulled up behind her 2021 VW Atlas, beat Shepherd and threw her to the ground, according to the lawsuit. She was four months pregnant when the attack occurred, the suit said. The attacker stole the car with Shepherd's 2-year-old son still in it, ran over Shepherd, causing serious injuries to her pelvis.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office contacted VW and Verizon Connect to get location information on the car, the lawsuit states. The companies refused to tell the sheriff's office the location of the car because Shephard's free subscription to the tracking service had expired, the suit said.
The sheriff's deputy explained that it was a "life or death" situation but the company still refused to give the tracking information unless Shepherd paid $150, according to the lawsuit. The representative allegedly said: "There was nothing he could do, this was company policy, and there were no exceptions," the suit states. "Verizon Connect Inc.'s demand for payment was tantamount for a ransom demand."
Shepherd paid the money and the car's location was identified. Volkswagen and Verizon caused "emotional distress" by delaying the recovery of the child and car by 40 minutes, the lawsuit alleges.
The suit seeks damages of more than $50,000.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Gerald J. Bekkerman, Colleen Mixan Mikaitis and Sarah Press of Taxman, Pollock, Murray & Bekkerman LLC, of Chicago.