Red-Light Camera Tickets Void: Judge

CHICAGO, IL - Refunds may be in order for anyone who received a red-light ticket from the city of Chicago since 2003.

In a class action lawsuit, a Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of a trio of plaintiffs who were suing the city over not sending second notices and other violations of their own municipal code, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Judge Kathleen Kennedy ruled the tickets in question are now “void.”

The lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in refunds from both red-light camera and speed-camera tickets. It claimed the city failed to specify the make of the vehicle and did not note that late penalties would be assessed if the payment was not received within 21 days.

According to the judge’s ruling:

“The second notice provision is designed to protect a non-responding violator’s right to contest a violation before determination of liability issues. This right is generally injured by a directory reading.”

The plaintiffs - Delyn McKenzie-Lopez, Themasha Simpson and Erica Lieschke - had “sufficiently alleged facts showing that the city’s retention of payments from determinations made without a second notice violates the fundamental principles of justice, equity and good conscience.”

Still, the city’s Law Department contends no refunds are due.

“The plaintiffs do not dispute that they violated the law and that they received notices of these violations. It is the city’s position that the plaintiffs are not entitled to any recovery, let alone any refunds,” spokesperson Bill McCaffrey wrote in a statement to the Sun-Times.

The number of motorists that would be affected by the ruling won’t be known for months, however.

“The city expects its citizens to follow the law — so much so that they’re putting cameras everywhere to watch us. Yet, they’re not following the law themselves. It’s a very ironic situation,” an attorney for the plaintiffs said.

more via the Chicago Sun-Times