Red-Light Camera Lawsuits Reinstated in Louisiana Parish

The battle over Jefferson Parish’s defunct red-light camera program is headed back to district court, after appellate judges reversed decisions throwing out ticketed drivers’ lawsuits against the parish and Redflex Traffic Systems.

A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel raised questions about the parish’s liability and Redflex’s role in the handling violations.

NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports the court found that the trial court’s summary judgment in favor of Redflex dismissed the plaintiffs’ request for an accounting of the money collected during the controversial program’s two-year run. Officials have said the program collected nearly $20 million from November 2007 until March 2010, when questions over Redflex payments to lobbyists led officials to suspend the cameras.

Two groups sued the parish and Redflex over the program’s constitutionality in separate cases that were consolidated and given class-action status. In one suit, plaintiffs sought refunds plus interest for drivers, who had paid the $110 tickets.

Appellate Judges Fredericka Wicker, Jude Gravois and Robert Chaisson agreed with Jefferson Parish and Redflex that plaintiffs’ claims that the red-light camera system was unconstitutional and illegal under state law had no merit.

Judge Henry Sullivan of the 24th Judicial District Court issued a summary judgment in favor of the parish and Redflex in 2012. Sullivan ruled Jefferson Parish was not an appropriate defendant in response to plaintiffs’ complaints about the program’s administration and enforcement.

But the appellate judges said it could not discern whether the parish created the program’s regulations or enacted the rules and “left it to independent entities, such as the Sheriff, Clerk of Court, District Attorney and First and Second Parish Courts, to set up enforcement methods.”

The judges also raised other issues, including whether alleged violators were given proper notice of proceedings against them in First and Second Parish Courts, and whether the district attorney’s office could prosecute the citations. The appellate judges also questioned whether the program could assess criminal fines and fees in a civil proceeding.

“We conclude that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Jefferson Parish may be liable for any of these potential failings,” the appellate judges wrote. “Jefferson Parish enacted the law.”