MOUNT VERNON – Belleville must defend a class action challenging its $500 redemption fee on vehicles of certain criminal suspects, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on May 18.
They reversed former circuit judge Stephen McGlynn, who denied certification of a class action prior to his appointment as U.S. district judge.
McGlynn found plaintiff Jeffrey Dewalt lacked standing because he didn’t own the vehicle he drove when police arrested him and he didn’t pay the fee.
Fifth District judges found ownership irrelevant.
Justice John Barberis wrote that city ordinance 70.075 provides for payment by either a registered owner of a vehicle or a person seeking its release.
“This fee, which was paid by petitioner as a result of the city’s enforcement of ordinance 70.075, could be redressed by a trial on this matter,” Barberis wrote.
Police arrested Dewalt in 2014, issued a ticket for driving under the influence, and charged $500 to redeem the vehicle.
The vehicle’s owner, who would marry Dewalt ten days later, paid the fee.
Dewalt sued in 2015, claiming the city violated constitutional due process.
His counsel Donna Polinske of Edwardsville proposed to certify him as representative of Illinois citizens who paid the fee.
She claimed it was merely a receipt given to Dewalt so he could appear at the towing facility and pay the actual towing fee.
She claimed the city’s fee didn’t connect or relate to its costs.
In 2018, city counsel Thomas Hunter of the Becker Hoerner firm in Belleville challenged Dewalt’s standing and moved for summary judgment.
He claimed Dewalt “has repeatedly been requested to produce, and has not produced, any evidence that he paid to have a vehicle owned by him released.”
Polinske responded that the owner paid with Dewalt’s money.
At a hearing on class certification in December 2019, McGlynn said the city imposed a fee and incurred no expense.
“I think it’s completely unfair,” he said.
He said he was inclined to certify, but two months later he ruled otherwise.
He found the cause supported certification, but Dewalt had insufficient standing to represent the class.
Dewalt moved to reconsider and McGlynn denied it.
On appeal, Hunter argued that even if Dewalt paid, he did so voluntarily.
“We disagree,” Barberis wrote.
“Ownership of the towed and impounded vehicle is not a requirement for the person paying the redemption fee.
“The direct injury, which can be traced back to the city’s ordinance, is the payment of the $500 redemption fee.”
He found the injury distinct and palpable, “rather than a generalized grievance common to all members of the public.”
He found no difference between Dewalt’s interest and that of other class members.