A class-action lawsuit accusing the city of Little Rock of improperly collecting $250,000 in fees from people who paid their traffic tickets in monthly installments will progress after a judge ruled against the city's motion to dismiss the case.
During his ruling against summary judgment, Circuit Judge Chris Piazza added from the stand that how the Little Rock Traffic Court assessed and collected so-called installment fees is "probably wrong, and they shouldn't have done it that way." A jury trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 15 in Piazza's courtroom.
Tim Steadman, representing plaintiff LaDonna Nelson with the firm Holleman and Associates, said after the hearing that he's not sure how many other traffic courts across Arkansas were assessing the fees in the same manner, calling it a "mixed bag across the state."
Nelson filed suit in May 2014 after she was charged a $30 installment fee despite paying off her son's $115 speeding ticket less than two weeks after the fine was assessed, according to the suit.
Installment fees are assessed to people who opt to pay their fines in partial monthly payments, which, according to state law, is designed to allow people with economic hardship more time to come up with the money. At most, the fees can amount to $10 per month under state law, the suit claims.
Nelson's fee was initially tacked on because her son told a court officer that he would take a three-month extension to pay for the ticket, though the fee was not forgiven when Nelson paid early, the suit says.
Despite the broader ruling that continues the suit, Piazza also dismissed two claims against the city after determining the maximum amount individuals could be charged -- $30 per person -- was minimal and did not constitute a substantive or procedural due process violation.
The suit, which seeks reimbursement of the installment fees and attorney's fees, will continue on Nelson's claim that the city violated Article 12, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution, which gives the General Assembly the right to restrict a city's power of taxation and assessment to "prevent the abuse of such power."
The lawsuit says Little Rock's Traffic Court charged the fees out of line with what state law allows by charging a lump-sum based on the original agreement rather than charging the fee when monthly payments were made.
Arkansas Code Annotated 16-13-704 states that courts may authorize installment payments when it's determined that the "defendant has the ability to pay the fine but that requiring the defendant to make immediate payment in full would cause a severe and undue hardship for the defendant" and his children.
The code says two separate $5 fees can be collected each month, totaling $10. The first is to be assessed at the time of an installment payment, which rolls over to the next month if no payment is made, and the second fee can be charged to people enrolled in an installment plan on the first day of each month.
Deputy City Attorney Sherri Latimer sought to distance the city from traffic court, arguing that elected District Judge Vic Fleming operated his court independently of city direction and made installment arrangements by court order.
"The city cannot determine what goes into a judge's order," Latimer said. "A court order is not a city policy. ... The city at the end of the day had nothing to do with it."
Latimer argued that proper recourse would have been to appeal the fees in the judicial system or seek post-conviction relief. "To our knowledge, no one in this class has done so, including the plaintiff," Latimer said.
The court in July 2014 changed the way it assesses the fees, according to court filings.
Traffic court handles roughly 22,000 cases per year, traffic court administrator Lisa Tatum said in a sworn affidavit included in court filings. The affidavit says defendants who paid in installments could choose to pay fines and fees within one to three months.
Steadman argued the city is liable for "unconstitutional acts" by its district judges and said Fleming was the city's policy maker in this case.
"This is routine policy that happens in every situation," Steadman argued, adding that installment plans were offered to "everyone who walked through the doors," regardless of need.
Following an October 2015 hearing, Piazza ruled that the installment fee is not a tax, ending Nelson's claim of illegal exaction, but declined to dismiss the suit in full and granted it class-action status.
Piazza decided the class would include any person given a payment plan to pay off a fine in Little Rock Traffic Court but who paid off the fine before 30 days. Nelson's attorneys said people assessed installment fees between May 12, 2009, and July 11, 2014, could be eligible to join the class.
Based on those parameters, Nelson's attorneys have identified roughly $250,000 in improperly charged fees, Steadman said after the hearing. Steadman said he wasn't immediately sure how many people qualified for the class.
State Desk on 01/18/2017