Kars4Kids Position on the Puterbaugh Decision

Kars4Kids believes the evidence at trial showed the following: Bruce Puterbaugh had an abandoned car on his property. It was left there by someone who had been staying at his house. Title to the car was not in Mr. Puterbaugh’s name. For months, he meant to get rid of the vehicle but never got around to it. Finally, with a party he was hosting around the corner, he had to dispose of it. Kars4Kids offered just what he needed – a quick, free, and easy way to get rid of the car. Mr. Puterbaugh reached out to Kars 4 Kids to have them pick it up.

Pickup went smoothly and Mr. Puterbaugh got exactly what he sought. He ridded himself of the car without any cost. Days later, a neighbor of Mr. Puterbaugh’s, a lawyer, heard of the donation. After Mr. Puterbaugh spoke with the attorney, who shared with Mr. Puterbaugh that Kars 4 Kids is a Jewish charity, this lawsuit began.

After Mr. Puterbaugh brought his complaint to Kars4Kids’ attention, Kars4Kids offered him the car back - it had not yet been sold or junked. With the vehicle returned, Mr. Puterbaugh could donate it to another charity. But he refused to take it. That was not surprising. After all, the car was a hassle he didn’t want. It was unclear what kind of damages he could claim given he was making a charitable donation of a car he neither wanted nor needed.

At trial, Kars4Kids’ COO Esti Landau testified that Kars4Kids efficiently secures and processes donations of vehicles to provide funding for charitable programs run by Kars4Kids’ sister charity Oorah. Those programs include school placement and tuition assistance for Jewish elementary and high school students across the US, subsidized summer camps for kids aged 8-18, youth groups in 80+ locations across the US including in California, personal mentorship, family events and holiday packages. Additionally, Kars4Kids offers small grants to secular nonprofits focused on youth development, mentorship and education as well as public service announcements regarding car and child safety.

Among Oorah’s full suite of year-round programs are two smaller programs specifically addressed in the Court’s opinion: a program providing support to American kids spending a post-high school gap year in Israel and a dating mentorship program for young adults who ‘graduated’ from Oorah’s other programs, helping prepare them for the next stage of their lives. The evidence at trial showed that these are smaller programs of Kars4Kids meant to continue to support children who had been participating in Kars4Kids programs during their school-aged years into their transition to young adulthood.

Mrs. Landau also testified about the nature of Kars4Kids’ advertising. Kars4Kids’ ads have one purpose: to remind listeners that Kars4Kids offers a quick and easy way to dispose of an unused vehicle. The ads are targeted to vehicle owners, not specifically to people considering donating to charity. The ads invite listeners considering donating to contact the organization via phone or web, at which point there is ample opportunity to learn more about the charity work and communities the organization supports before donating. Indeed, Mr. Puterbaugh himself testified that all of the information he claimed he did not know about was readily available when he later looked at Kars4Kids’ website (which viewers are directed to in the advertisements).

We believe the Court’s decision is deeply flawed, ignores and misrepresents the facts that were presented at trial, and misapplies the law. It’s well known that we are a Jewish organization and our website makes it abundantly clear. The Court cited no evidence that demonstrates donors would not make their donations if they knew Jewish children benefit and evidence was presented, which the Court ignored, that donors value the fast and free service and, for those who do care about the donation recipients, those donors would still donate regardless of the recipients’ religious background.

For 30 years, we’ve made it easy to donate an old car to benefit kids and families across the country through our sister charity Oorah. We're helping thousands of kids with youth development, mentoring and educational programs, including hundreds in the state of California, contrary to the judge's complete mischaracterization of our work and of the testimony at trial. Like many youth-serving organizations, helping children often means engaging parents and families as well, and continuing support through young adulthood. This holistic approach allows our programs to be more effective at sustaining lasting impact.

We believe this case was nothing more than a lawyer-driven attempt to siphon off charitable funds for their own gain. We expect to win on appeal because the law and the facts are clearly on our side.