Class Action Law Suits in Louisiana

Orleans Parish District Court Judge Kern Reese on Friday granted the city of New Orleans' motion to continue a class certification hearing in a red light camera case until Sept. 24.

The city filed the motion to continue through assistant city attorney Detrich Hebert.

The motion cites Louisiana State Civil Procedure Article 592 (3)(a) and states that the "hearing on a class certification is improper because the city has not made an appearance before the court in the present matter." It also states that "the city has not had adequate time to conduct discovery because there are numerous other traffic camera violation cases that are consuming counsel's time."

Metairie lawyer Joseph McMahon III filed the class action claiming the cameras that catch motorists breaking the law are illegal. Reese threw out a red light camera ticket issued against McMahon in 2008.

McMahon has filed similar lawsuits in Jefferson Parish and in Lafayette, La.

Red light camera revenue has been used for various public works projects in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. The Times-Picayune reported that New Orleans has used most of the nearly $10 million generated from red light cameras towards the rebuilding of roads throughout the city while Jefferson Parish has held nearly $15 million in escrow until all appeals are exhausted.

McMahon's other cases against red light cameras in Louisiana are still ongoing.

But in May 2009, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance threw out a similar case, stating that McMahon and his lawyer, Anthony Maska, failed to show that Jefferson Parish's system is unconstitutional. Maska and McMahon have taken their case back to state court.

In Lafayette, a state judge threw out the bulk of McMahon's lawsuit against the city's traffic cameras that sought to prove the program is unlawful for turning traffic tickets into civil violations.

McMahon and Maska are now attempting the same argument they've made in New Orleans, alleging that in the Lafayette system, someone must see the traffic violation in order to validate the image of the purported crime provided by the red light camera.

New Orleans adopted the red light camera system in April 2008 after a private firm, American Traffic Solutions Inc., won an open-bidding contract to install and run the cameras and issue citations and fines to motorists.  Read.

Red light cameras in New Jersey's largest city have generated nearly half a million dollars in their first five months in operation. Newark issued $85 tickets to more than 20,000+ drivers between December 2009 and April 2010.  More than 12,000 had paid their fines by the end of April which is above average.  Newark's $85 fine is divided among the city, state and Redflex contracted to maintain the cameras.

Newark installed the cameras as part of a five-year pilot program conducted by the state Transportation Department. The DOT has issued permits for use in 22 towns. However, they're only operational in Newark, Brick Township, Glassboro and Deptford.  The DOT plans to evaluate their effectiveness after collecting a year’s worth of data.

Redflex Holdings Ltd (ASX:RDF) shares have bounced from a near 12 month low of $1.50 and are currently trading over $2.00. Redflex shares were dumped by investors after the company announced, in December, that its results would be impeded, among other things, by the high costs of defending litigation in the US. Shares dropped by over 30% over the next few months.

The company operates re-light and speed photo enforcement systems, primarily in the United States. However the company announced at the end of May that it had won a legal challenge that had been raised by competitor American Traffic Solutions. Karen Finley, CEO of Redflex further commented that the ATS lawsuit was “a baseless attempt to misuse the court system to win in a courtroom what it could not win in fair competition”.

Macquarie Group (Macquarie) is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Macquarie’s main business focus is making returns by providing a diversified range of services to clients. Macquarie acts on behalf of institutional, corporate and retail clients and counterparties around the world. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs more than 14,600 people in approximately 70 office locations in 28 countries

Macquarie Group and subsidiaries Macquarie Special Situations Master Fund and Macquarie Radar Holdings Ltd. said they had a 10.7% stake in Redflex. Macquarie Special Situations Master Fund was established in February 2008 as part of the group's new fund pipeline. Macquarie has been acquisitive throughout the downturn and management has said recently they remain on the look out for companies to buy. The group raised capital while the markets were weak and has, since then, been deploying it through the last 12 months by picking up assets in overseas markets.

When it reported year-end results in April, Macquarie said it had A$4 billion of capital in excess of the group's minimum regulatory requirement. In total, management said the bank will have around A$30 billion of cash on its books after a trust is converted to cash on the balance sheet.

San Mateo, California Fines May Be Reduced from $450 to $250

Drivers caught by traffic cameras for taking an illegal right turn at a red light would face much cheaper fines than they do now under a bill introduced by a Peninsula legislator on Friday.  The bill from Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would lower from about $450 to $250 the fine drivers caught on camera pay for turning right on red without fully stopping.

The exact fine varies slightly in different areas of the state. Although it would provide relief for drivers who roll through right turns, it would cost cities enough money that they may have to yank their cameras altogether. Currently, police fine drivers caught on camera the same amount whether they run a red light through an intersection or make a right turn on red without fully stopping. Assembly Bill 909 would make the illegal right turn penalty the same as what drivers pay when they are pulled over by police for not fully stopping at a stop sign.

In other cities, however, it's less of a concern. Already, Burlingame and San Carlos officials in the past two months voted to take down their cameras because they were not generating enough fine revenue to pay for themselves, and officials in San Bruno voted not to install the devices for the same reason.

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