A group of lawyers in Roanoke have come up with a very creative challenge to Virginia’s abusive driver fees:
The battle over Virginia’s abusive driver fees intensified Monday, as a Roanoke County lawsuit sought to suspend the new law statewide even as a Henrico Court judge upheld it as constitutional.
A team of Roanoke lawyers filed a lawsuit Monday morning on behalf of an 81-year-old woman on a fixed income, challenging the controversial civil remedial fees on several fronts.
(….)
Roanoke resident Mary Elizabeth Minter became a potential target of the fees when she was charged with reckless driving in a July 29 wreck. She is accused of running a red light and hitting another car while driving on Williamson Road, said Roanoke County police Lt. D.G. McMillan.
Minter was taken to a hospital. Police have no record that the other driver was injured. There was no evidence of excessive speed, McMillan said.
(…)
[T]he Roanoke County lawsuit is not limited to Minter’s case. The suit asks the court to declare Minter the “virtual representative” of all Virginia residents who have faced the possibility of having an abuser fee assessed against them since the law took effect.
Her suit also argues that the fees violate the guarantee of equal protection under the law by only being levied against Virginia drivers. A similar argument made in a Henrico County case earlier this month hit a roadblock Monday, as a Henrico County Circuit Court judge declared the law constitutional.
A copy of the complaint (PDF) can be found here, as well as a copy of Minter’s attorneys’ motion seeking an injunction.
H/T: SW Virginia law blog
