Lawyers for the city of Fargo are still drafting arguments asking a federal judge to toss out a possible class action lawsuit alleging constitutional violations for illegal traffic fines.
The city has until June 16 to file a motion seeking dismissal of a lawsuit that gained momentum after the North Dakota Supreme Court declared as illegal traffic fines imposed by the city of Fargo that exceed fines set by state law.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court was filed by Stephanie Sauby, a West Fargo woman who is contesting five traffic fines she has received from the city of Fargo.
At issue: whether Sauby's constitutional rights, including due process, equal protection and protection against excessive fines, were violated.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Webb wants to determine whether Sauby's U.S. constitutional rights were violated before he decides whether to allow the case to proceed as a class action - a move that would open the door to hundreds or perhaps thousands of drivers wishing to contest fines exceeding state limits.
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"Our research of the case law suggests pretty strongly to us that that doesn't rise to the level of a constitutional violation," Stacey Tjon Bossart, a lawyer for the city of Fargo, said Friday.
The city of Fargo had argued that its authority as a charter city allowed it to exceed state traffic fines, but the North Dakota Supreme Court rejected that argument in a unanimous ruling in March.
If Webb concludes that Sauby's constitutional rights were not violated by the illegal fines, the federal lawsuit would be dismissed, Tjon Bossart said.
Tim Purdon, a Bismarck lawyer who represents Sauby, said he has yet to see the city's written legal arguments, but maintains that federal court is the proper venue to decide whether federal constitutional rights were violated.
"The people who are affected by that, the citizens of Fargo, should have a remedy," Purdon said. "What that remedy is is going to be up to the judge and case law."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Patrick Springer at (701) 241-5522
