Lawsuit filed against Upper Darby Township over handling of parking tickets
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Upper Darby Township in federal court over its handling of parking tickets.
The legal fight comes two months after CBS News Philadelphia Investigations reported exclusively that thousands of tickets weren't sent to local courts, raising eyebrows and even more questions.
The plaintiff's attorney said Monday that is a due process violation.
In this the latest chapter of a parking ticket controversy in Upper Darby Township, a federal lawsuit claims thousands of people issued parking tickets never received notice of how and when they may contest the ticket or to appear and dispute violation before a local judge.
Attorney David Stanoch, with the Center City law firm Honik Law, which filed the suit on behalf of a Clifton Heights woman asking the township to resume sending parking tickets to court.
"Anyone who receives a criminal fine, even something as small as a parking ticket, they're entitled to two things: notice and a hearing," Stanoch said. "That's basically a due process constitutional right."
Our exclusive investigation earlier this winter found beginning in the spring of 2021 — parking tickets and violations issued by Upper Darby Township Parking Enforcement were suddenly no longer arriving at the local district magistrates for processing.
A spokesperson for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts confirmed 18,000 tickets weren't processed through the courts for nearly two years, but were eventually sent to the AOPC in bulk in February after we started asking questions.
That set off alarms for some township council members.
"I also find the timing of those 18,000 tickets getting sent very coincidental based on the timing of Mr. Holden's investigation and report," Meaghan Wagner, a Republican Township Council Member, said.
A seven-year audit of the parking department was then ordered by council. It has yet to be released even though it's completed.
In February, Mayor Barbarann Keffer said technology issues were to blame.
Joe Holden: "Our investigation found more than 18,000 parking violations didn't go to the courts for hearings. How big of a problem is that?"
Stanoch: "It is a big problem. But time after time again, we're hearing the same thing, from lots of people. They're simply not being afforded the notice and living under this fear of if I don't pay this fine, I won't be able to go to court and to fight it and argue against it."
The suit claims: "Upper Darby leaves recipients in limbo, under ever-compounding fines and the fear of prosecution, without the most basic due process concepts of notice and an opportunity to be heard."
A township official declined to comment on behalf of the mayor and administration.
When asked how many people could be a part of this federal lawsuit, the attorney said the number could range from hundreds to thousands.
The township council president told CBS News Philadelphia he finds the suit to be "legitimate," saying nobody has seen their day in court.