Limits OK'd in lawsuit

The attorney bringing the class-action suit said he is happy with the ruling.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- A lawsuit filed by Councilman Dan Moadus against the city for use of a traffic camera to catch speeders will go forward in April as a limited class action.
Judge John Stuard of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, in an earlier ruling, had allowed the suit to move forward as a class action but limited it to those who had been cited and did not pay the fine.
Those who had been cited and paid the fine, the judge ruled, could not be a part of the class action.
Atty. Jim Denney, representing Moadus, asked the court to reconsider the all-inclusive class-action suit.
Judge Stuard left the class-action status of the suit the same as his previous ruling but did leave a window of opportunity for an expansion of the class action.
Judge Stuard, in his most recent ruling, wrote: "Until this matter is resolved, no one knows whether those who have paid fines previous to this filing will have a basis to seek repayment or not."
According to Denney, the ruling allows for the possibility of an expanded class in the class-action suit, should the judge rule in his favor.
"He is not making a ruling on whether the payments were voluntary or involuntary, so what that tells me is that we can revisit that issue later. In other words, if he decides the whole thing is illegal, those people can possibly be made a part of the class," he said.
What was dismissed
Judge Stuard also dismissed a motion made by Trafficpax, operator of the camera, to dismiss the complaint of fraud against the company.
Denney argues Trafficpax may have committed some form of fraud acting as a partner with the city and, for example, sending out letters that stated they were from the police department -- but were in fact from Trafficpax, a private company.
Trafficpax asked the court to dismiss the claim because not enough facts of such a fraud had been presented.
Judge Stuard, in his ruling, said the plaintiffs had informed Trafficpax of the form of fraud they are claiming. Facts supporting the claim, he wrote, need to be proved at a hearing to succeed but do not necessarily need to be a part of the complaint.
jgoodwin@vindy.com