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An Ohio Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision in the New Miami Speed Camera case.
New Miami operates an automated enforcement program, or speed camera program.
Motorists in the village who allegedly exceed the speed limit were mailed Notices of Liability from a Maryland corporation. The New Miami Ordinance significantly limited the ability of a motorist to challenge the Notice of Liability at a hearing. Joshua Adam Engel is one of the attorneys representing the motorists who brought the case.
The decision can be read here: But15043
In a prior decision, Judge Sage of the Butler County Common Pleas Court found that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it violated the due process rights of motorists. This followed a similar decision by Judge Ruqehlman in Hamilton County on the Elmwood Place ordinance.
The recent decision concerned whether the case can proceed as a class action. In other words, whether the claims of all motorists seeking refunds could be considered in a single case. The appeals court answered, “Yes.” The court concluded that the persons who originally brought the suit could represent the class of all persons who received Notices of Liability. The court said, “but for the civil traffic enforcement program . . . [the plaintiffs] would not have received the Notices of Liability and incurred the attendant financial repercussions.”
Unless the case is taken by the Ohio Supreme Court, the case will now be returned to the Common Pleas Court. The attorneys for the class expect to ask the court to order New Miami to return to motorists the fines paid.
