Dollar Thrifty Toll Fee Class Action Lawsuit Tossed

Last week, the class action lawsuit accusing Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. of unfairly charging its customers steep administrative fees to process tolls racked up while renting their cars was dismissed by an Oklahoma federal judge.

Lead plaintiffs alleged in their class action lawsuit complaint filed in May of last year that after they rented a car from Dollar Thrifty during a trip to Texas in November, incurring four toll charges totaling $4.70 along the way, Dollar Thrifty hit them with $60.00 in administrative fees related to the tolls. The plaintiffs argue that the company misleads customers to believe that the fees go toward processing the tolls, but allege that actually only a small portion of those fees are used for administering Dollar Thrifty’s electronic toll program, while the rest is a hidden additional charge on top of customers’ rental fees.

Dollar Thrifty moved to dismiss the class action in July because the administrative fees the company charges for processing tolls were disclosed in the couple’s rental contract with Dollar Thrifty. Dollar Thrifty pointed out that according to their Rental Agreement, should a customer “choose not to select the PlatePassT pre-paid tolling option and travel on one of these all-electronic toll roads, and do not have [their] own tolling device in the vehicle, the applicable toll will be paid for [them] and an administrative fee of $15.00 [formerly $25] per occurrence with a maximum of $105.00 will be charged.” Dollar Thrifty also noted that this clause is found in all Dollar Thrifty rental agreements and was reportedly included in the contract signed by the lead plaintiffs and all potential Class Members.

The plaintiffs opposed the motion, but last week U.S. District Court Judge Gregory K. Frizzell agreed with Dollar Thrifty and tossed the toll fee class action lawsuit. “The toll fee provision is inapplicable if customers either purchase the toll bypass option or simply avoid cashless toll roads. Plaintiffs in this case rejected the toll bypass option and agreed to the terms of the toll fee provision, which was clearly disclosed and explained in the rental agreement,” Judge Frizzell pointed out in his order. Judge Frizzell added that because the plaintiffs could not support their breach of contract claims, the class action lawsuit’s unjust enrichment claims also must be dismissed.

Similarly, the toll fee class action lawsuit’s claims based on breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing fail, said Judge Frizzell, because no special relationship between Dollar Thrifty and the proposed Class, either express or implied, exists. “In this case, plaintiffs do not allege they have a long-standing relationship with Dollar, nor do plaintiffs allege the parties have a relationship involving significant trust or confidence. Dollar merely provides rental services through arms-length transactions with customers,” wrote the judge in his order.

The plaintiffs are represented by Tony M. Graham and R. Jack Freeman of Graham & Freeman PLLC, Jeffrey W. Lawrence of The Lawrence Law Firm, Bruce D. Greenberg and Jeffrey A. Shooman of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC and Daniel R. Karon and Laura K. Mummert of Goldman Scarlato Karon & Penny PC.

The Dollar Thrifty Toll Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Stephen Sallee, et al. v. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., et al., Case No. 4:14-cv-00250, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.