DRIVER Rodney Shelton owed the city of Chicago thousands of dollars after parking his grandmother’s vintage car in a friend’s private parking lot.
In 2015, Shelton discovered he had 77 parking tickets for not having a city sticker.
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As a local ABC affiliate WLS-TV reported, a friend called Shelton to notify him about the tickets.
Shelton said that with the penalties, he owed the city of Chicago $20,000.
“Just the fact that you have a municipal code that allows you to enter someone’s private property because it’s open, doing that is not right. It’s just not right,” Shelton said.
THE PROCESS
On July 6, 2023, WLS-TV reported that Shelton “and likely thousands of other car owners” qualified for a class action lawsuit granted the previous week against the Illinois city.
Read more about parking fines
According to the outlet, anyone who received a fine or penalty greater than $250 between January 1, 2010 and the July 2023 reporting date could be part of the litigation.
“You get one or two of these tickets and someone is in a lot of trouble because they can’t afford to pay them, and what happens then is they lose their car because the city tows it or they lose their job,” Jacie said. Zolna, lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Zolna said most people who received tickets over $250 suffered violations due to the lack of city stickers.
“We discovered through this process that not only are they selling tickets, not only are they disproportionately charging tickets to minorities in low-income communities, but they are also charging tickets at amounts higher than those allowed by law,” Zolna continued, according to the publication. .
‘THIS IS EGREGIOUS’
Shelton said he hopes to recoup some of the penalties he ended up paying the city.
However, his driver’s license was suspended due to debt, which almost cost him his job.
Shelton “had to file for bankruptcy to get his license back and give him time to pay the $20,000,” according to WLS-TV.
He said, “This is ultimately egregious; ultimately this is egregious.”
As of July 2023, litigation is ongoing. At this time, it is unclear if it is still in progress.
PARKING TICKET PROBLEMS
Shelton isn’t the only driver in America complaining about unfair parking rules.
How to Fight a Parking Ticket
You can avoid being fined by following all published laws and regulations, but sometimes mistakes are made.
Like any form of citation, parking tickets can be avoided by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city or state, or simply being in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes can be made.
Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket comes as a surprise to you, there are some things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.
- Read the ticket carefully. Look for errors such as incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would render the ticket invalid.
- Take pictures. The vehicle in the space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that were not cited for performing the same parking service. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with time and date is accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or on crooked posts, or that are not “obvious” are also great things to photograph.
- Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If it is not listed, the ticket is not valid.
- Immediately follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have appeal instructions. Waiting until the last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
- When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
- “I didn’t know the law.”
- “I was going to take the car.”
- “I can not pay for it.”
- “I’ve been doing this for years.”
- “The parking officer said everything was fine.”
- Contact a lawyer. If you are facing obstacles and feel stuck, you may want to contact a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.
Source: Reader Summary
A Cincinnati the driver received a $92 fine after paying to park in a downtown lot.
The woman received notice that she would have to pay the fine or her vehicle would be subject to towing.
Rebecca Killion complained to the Cincinnati Better Business Bureau and the Ohio Attorney General.
She was later told that another 70 drivers had received parking tickets even though they paid to park in the garage.
Another driver in Charleston, South Carolina, got a rude awakening when he woke up one morning to a surprise $315 fee and no car.
The driver’s car was towed from his apartment complex due to the vehicle’s position.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
