In a move that could affect scores of Florida municipalities that operate automated red-light traffic ticket systems, a federal appeals court has called on the state’s Supreme Court to settle how state law weighs on a ticketed driver’s class-action lawsuit.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has asked Florida’s high court to answer questions about how Florida statutes bear on a case filed by Steven Pincus, who is suing American Traffic Solutions Inc. (ATS) for unjust enrichment under Florida law after he was charged a $7.90 processing fee when he paid a traffic ticket generated by a red-light camera in North Miami Beach.
A federal district court dismissed his complaint, but now Pincus is appealing the ruling to the 11th Circuit.
Attorney Bret Lusskin
| Law Office of Bret Lusskin
“After careful review, we find an absence of guiding precedent on these questions of state law – questions that may have sweeping implications for dozens of municipal traffic enforcement regimes across Florida and for the development of Florida’s common law,” the appeals court said in its Feb. 2 opinion.
Specifically, the court called on Florida’s high court to determine whether imposing a 5 percent fee on credit card payments to cover the cost of red-light camera tickets violates state law and whether Pincus’ complaint should be rejected because the statutes in question don’t provide for private lawsuits.
Forty-six jurisdictions in Florida and millions of Florida drivers could be affected by the outcome of the litigation, according to the 11th Circuit opinion.
Bret Lusskin, Pincus’ attorney, declined to provide a response to the details of the litigation, but he left little doubt about the class action’s overall purpose.
“Unfortunately, I cannot comment on this as it’s still a matter of active litigation,” Lusskin told the Florida Record in an email. “With that, I can say that one goal of our case is to end these fees.”
The 11th Circuit said that the resolution of the litigation could have long-term effects on common law in Florida, particularly on how the unjust enrichment law is applied in a number of broad contexts.
More than 8 million notices for red-light camera violations have been issued in Florida, according to the court, including more than 1 million notices recorded from July 2018 to June 2019.