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Speed camera company: Keep us out of this
GIRARD
Blue Line Solutions, a Tennessee-based speed camera operation company, contends it should not be included in a class-action lawsuit regarding drivers who, an attorney alleges, were wrongfully issued speed camera tickets.
The company argued in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the city issued the speed camera tickets, not BLS, so the company should be dropped from the complaint.
The litigation against the city and BLS revolves around the contested speed limit on a portion of Interstate 80 between Dec. 7, 2017, and Jan. 8, 2018, after construction ended. The city still enforced the temporary lower speed limit.
The class-action suit was filed by Atty. Marc Dann on behalf of drivers he maintains shouldn’t have been ticketed for abiding by the normal speed limit.
Dann said communities are cash-starved because of the state cutting local government funds, and turn to methods such as speed cameras to supplement the lost revenue.
“This is about enriching people in Tennessee,” he said. “The state of Ohio has failed to properly fund local governments ... I understand why Girard needs the money, but I think the people should be really skeptical of a for-profit company exploiting that problem and taking 40 to 50 percent of the profits.”
Copies of the traffic tickets that were issued to the drivers involved in the lawsuit prove fines were issued by Girard, the court document says, and the fines were paid to the city. The citations have Girard’s address on them.
The company used that argument in attempt to disparage Dann and the drivers’ claims in the lawsuit.
Dann disagrees with the company’s assertions. He said Blue Line, which supplies the speed cameras, is responsible for sending tickets to drivers, and receives payments directly from drivers.
The Vindicator’s calls to Blue Line Solutions were not returned Tuesday afternoon. The motion was filed by Robert Yallech with Youngstown-based Reminger Co., serving as legal counsel for the company. The Vindicator’s calls to Yallech were not returned.
The city’s motion to dismiss in August was at odds over the claims made by drivers, including that their due process rights had been violated.
Robert Cahill, an attorney with Sutter O’ Connell Co. who is representing the city, had no comment about the litigation.