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Posted: 1:05 PM Jan 7, 2009
Dickson could face refunding $350,000 in traffic fines
DICKSON, Okla. ― Hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds could be the price one small Oklahoma town has to pay. A judge already ruled against the town of Dickson, Oklahoma, once. Now a class action suit could be in the works.
Reporter: Shelby LevinsEmail Address: shelby.levins@kxii.com |
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DICKSON, OK ― Hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds could be the price one small Oklahoma town has to pay. A judge already ruled against the town of Dickson, Oklahoma, once. Now a class action suit could be in the works.
The sight of the case file of Dr. Frederick House vs. The Town of Dickson is staggering. Dr. House’s lawyers say the town fined their client more than legally allowed.
“Our position in this is real simple. They didn't follow the rules. They can't charge anyone more than $50.”
That’s exactly what a Carter County judge found. The town of Dickson had not filed their ordinances properly and was violating State Law by charging Dr. House more than $50.
But according to House's lawyers and affidavits from three former Dickson city judges, that's just the beginning of the city's problems.
“I don't know if they're doing it now, for a substantial period of time, through at least 3 judges tenure, were firing judges because they wouldn't find everyone guilty. Then when they found them guilty, they had to give them the maximum fine,” says lawyer Davis Blankenship.
“That's not a court, that's a cattle call.”
According to Blankenship, more than 2,000 people were overcharged. Some 1,700 tickets were overcharged. It works out in excess of $300,000.
Now instead of trying to have each driver’s case heard individually, Blankenship wants them all to be heard as a class action lawsuit.
“Not just convince judge card because we've already convinced him once, but also the Oklahoma Supreme Court that all of these people ought to be in the same class,” he says.
Blankenship says first, the town of Dickson has the right to appeal the judges ruling on the house case.
We tried to speak to city officials, but they refused to speak on camera.
Regardless of what happens, Blankenship says the lawsuit filed has already made a difference.
“A tremendous number of municipality to suddenly check to see if they had their ordnances were filed the way their supposed to be, if they'd followed with State Law. So I think we accomplished something simply by filing the lawsuit. I think we're going to accomplish more if we actually make them pay money, because that’s where it hurts.”
We’ll continue to monitor this developing story.
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