Petition filed for class action lawsuit over photo radar
Anyone who got a speeding ticket from a photo radar could get reimbursed, if a new class-action lawsuit is successful.
A petition to launch a collective lawsuit against the province was filed in court Tuesday in the name of those who have been caught speeding by photo radar machines since the machines were first installed in 2009.
The request asks a judge for permission to launch a class-action suit against the province. It comes in the wake of a Nov. 28 judgment by Quebec Court Judge Serge Cimon that ruled the province’s method of issuing tickets relies on hearsay, and is not valid. In that case — a $1,160 speeding ticket incurred on Highway 15 — the judge noted the officer who issued the ticket was not present at the time of the infraction and did not visit the site afterward. For that reason, the officer could not say for certain if the device was properly calibrated or if there was a sign posting the correct speed limit in the area where the car was driving. The ticket relied on assertions made by the officer, when it was other officers who made those checks, Cimon wrote.
The judgment has put into question thousands of photo radar tickets that were issued in the same way.
Late last month, the Crown Prosecutor’s office announced it would not appeal that judgment. JeanPascal Boucher, a spokesperson for the office told the Canadian Press the province is convinced that the law as it stands is valid.
On Thursday, Avi Levy, the lawyer who filed the motion said the lawsuit, and the province’s decision not to appeal has spurred this legal action.
The request was made in the name of Kevin Ka-Foo Fung, who got a $197 ticket for driving at 101 kilometres per hour in a 70km/h zone on Feb. 13, 2014. It asks for the government to reimburse Fung and anyone who incurred a fine for speeding in the time since photo radars were installed in 2009, plus $100 for their trouble. People who get photo radar tickets do not incur demerit points, so the ticket doesn’t affect their licence renewals.
Levy said this is a landmark case that could have serious repercussions both in the province and beyond.
“To be honest, it’s pretty exciting, because it’s different from the day-to-day cases when we just represent one person at a time,” Levy said. “In this case, it’s a group of people that we don’t even know how large it is, and the amount in play is much bigger also.”
He said there are six government bodies involved in the suit, and about $90 million in fines issued through photo radar devices since their inception, so the lawsuit is sure to be complicated.
He expects it will take up a year or more for a judge to rule on whether the class-action suit is valid. If they get the go-ahead, it will likely take several more years before a decision is rendered.
“It’s a long battle ahead,” said Levy, a partner in the law firm called TicketAide. “There’s a lot of government bodies involved and it’s going to be highly contested, I’m sure.”
He said there could be about 600,000 people eligible to become part of the suit. In Quebec, eligible defendants in class-action suits are automatically enrolled in the suit, unless they choose to opt out. The suit is asking for all defendants to be reimbursed what they paid and then awarded an additional $100. That means if Levy is successful, anyone with proof they paid a ticket issued through photo radar could get a refund.
Levy said the firm could get a percentage of the overall payout, but the fee has not yet been worked out.
This isn’t the first petition for a class-action lawsuit against photo radar devices. In Quebec City, a group is challenging the constitutionality of the devices, while another woman launched a classaction suit Dec. 30, after receiving a ticket for speeding in Mirabel.