Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Associated Press
CINCINNATI
A judge in southwest Ohio on Tuesday granted class-action status to a lawsuit challenging use of cameras for a speeding enforcement blitz in a village near Cincinnati.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman ruled that the original lawsuit can be expanded to all drivers who paid speeding tickets received over the six months before he ordered a halt to Elmwood Place’s use of speeding cameras in March.
It’s estimated that will be as many as 10,000 drivers, seeking refunds of $1.75 million in fines and other charges that Ruehlman called “unjust enrichment.”
Ruehlman had ruled earlier that Elmwood Place hadn’t given proper notice of the camera use and made it too difficult to challenge the citations. He compared the camera enforcement to a con game, calling it “a scam” against motorists.
A message seeking comment was left with the village’s attorney.
Attorney Mike Allen filed the lawsuit last year for about a dozen plaintiffs, including ticketed motorists and business owners who said the ticket blitz was chasing customers away. Among them was a pastor who said members of his congregation had stopped coming after being ticketed.
Other Ohio courts, including the state Supreme Court, have upheld use of traffic cameras.