PHILADELPHIA - Upper Darby Township will pay $800,000 to some of the motorists who were issued parking tickets and were unable to contest them.
Under a proposed class action settlement in federal court, Upper Darby will put that amount in a non-reversionary fund for class members who paid a parking ticket in 2021 or 2022. Lawyers like Ruben Honik of Honik LLC and David Stanoch of New Orleans will seek up to one-third in attorneys fees.
And about $98,000 will be spent on sending notices to class members and handling their claims. Judge Cynthia Rufe will decide whether to approve the settlement or not, following a period during which objections can be filed.
"Simply put, the settlement represents significant value to the class, and is fair, adequate and reasonable," the motion for preliminary approval says.
Upper Darby is to cancel all unpaid tickets issued during the class period and make changes to how it handles future citations.
The case alleged due process violations from the town's Parking Enforcement Department. The tickets tell recipients that can plead guilty and pay a fine or face prosecution.
When contesting, recipients had to wait for notice of a summons and hearing date but the suit says those notices are never sent.
"Hundreds, if not thousands, of persons receiving parking tickets never receive notice of how and when they may contest a parking ticket, nor an opportunity to appear and dispute a ticket," the suit says.
"Instead, 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. Absent any notice or hearing, many individuals simply pay the tickets out of fear or confusion, without ever being afforded their right to notice and a hearing.”
The plaintiffs' case was furthered when the town's director of parking enforcement, Sekela Coles, was charged with theft, diversion of funds from parking meters and voiding parking violations of family members.
“While outside the four corners of the complaint, plaintiff nevertheless submits these new facts, as they would be among those to be developed in discovery, and bolster the plausibility of plaintiff’s claims,” plaintiff lawyers wrote last year.
Coles resigned from her post as a result of charges from the Delaware County District Attorney's Office. Allegations say she stole $4,300 from parking kiosks, and she reached an agreement to pay restitution and perform community service.
The motion for preliminary approval of the settlement notes that the class action mechanism is the most appropriate for correcting the harms suffered by class members, as all claims arise from the same conduct.
"Each Settlement Class Member was issued a parking ticket during the same time period, and each was denied a timely notice and a hearing," the motion says.