Consumer groups sue over database

The Justice Department failed to create a national database of vehicle ownership required under a 1992 law and should be forced to so within 30 days, three consumer groups said in a lawsuit.

The law, intended to cut fraudulent sales of used automobiles, required junk- and salvage-yard operators and insurance companies to file monthly reports to the database. The agency has yet to write regulations for such reports, said Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group, and two organizations in California.

“People’s lives are at risk because they are buying used cars that are missing air bags or have other critical safety defects due to their hidden histories as junked or salvaged vehicles,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen.

The National Motor Vehicle Title Information System would allow car buyers to see whether a vehicle was rebuilt after a wreck or was stolen, Public Citizen said. Sacramento-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, along with Consumer Action in San Francisco, joined Public Citizen in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Columbia.