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Class action suit against Baton Rouge for red-light ticket program moving forward
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BATON ROUGE - A six-year-old civil suit against the City of Baton Rouge for its red-light ticket program has received the green light to move forward.
If the suit goes the way similar litigation in the state has, Baton Rouge could be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. New Orleans attorney Joe McMahon is representing the plaintiffs suing the city.
"These camera companies come in, they pitch a bill to a councilman and other government reps and say 'Hey, we have this great program,' and say it's all about public safety but you'll make a lot of money," McMahon said.
The lawsuit's basis is technical, but it has been successful in both Orleans and Jefferson parishes, garnering judgments in the tens of millions of dollars.
"When this program was started, the ordinance that established it put the program under the control of the Department of Public Works. Well, this violates the home rule charter for East Baton Rouge, because the home rule charter says traffic is a police function."
The lawsuit, filed in 2018, was officially certified Monday by Judge Kelly Balfour.
"What that means is that we are allowed to bring this case on behalf of everyone who has received and paid a red light ticket in EBR Parish."
In the Orleans case, a judge ordered the parish to pay back nearly $26 million in tickets. McMahon says, with interest, that's gone up to over $55 million. So far the parish has paid nothing.
"We are on their list of judgments to be paid. It takes a long time for the City of New Orleans to pay their judgments."
The program in Baton Rouge began in 2007.
"There are probably at least 250,000 tickets that have been issued. The last numbers we have received were from 2021 and showed collections just shy of $40 million."
Since then, there's been about an additional $10 million in tickets paid, putting the total around $50 million. If the City-Parish is ordered to pay that money back, it could have devastating consequences, especially given the already reduced budget due to St. George.
"That's an issue that we will have to deal with down the road."
While McMahon considers the tickets illegal, his advice about whether you should pay yours isn't as clear cut.
"That's a difficult question. As our case is pending and ongoing, I think I know what our result will be, but I think everybody has to make that decision based on their own risk tolerance."
Though there are late fees associated with not paying, McMahon says he's never known anyone to go to jail or get in any legal trouble for not paying them. However, there have been instances in some cities where the cars of owners who have not paid have been booted.
As far as the next step in this lawsuit, they expect the City-Parish to file an appeal.
McMahon says he will potentially bring a separate class action suit in Baton Rouge against the school board for its use of ticket cameras on school buses and is looking for people who have received one.
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