The Toll Roads Class Action Challenges Driver Penalties and Fines

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A California driver’s toll roads class action lawsuit claims that the operators of some state toll roads have been deceptively shaking down drivers for tolls and fines.

Plaintiff Ebrahim E. Mahda is suing Transportation Corridor Agencies, the California-based company that manages toll collection on certain state highways in Orange County under the name The Toll Roads.

Mahda is challenging the way The Toll Roads issues fines to drivers who enter onto these roads without an electronic transponder called a FasTrak, used to assess tolls for registered vehicles. The FasTrak transponder is linked to a prepaid account that automatically covers the charge for toll whenever the driver uses a particular toll road.

The specific roads at issue in this toll roads class action lawsuit are state routes 73, 133, 241 and 261. Madha says these roads account for 20 percent of the roads in the Orange County highway system.

Drivers may use these roads without a FasTrak device in their car. But those who do will receive a Notice of Toll Evasion in the mail demanding payment of a fine, Mahda says. He says he received one of these notices himself in December 2015 after driving on state route 73 twice during the previous November.

Madha says that failure to pay the fines on time results in a compounding of penalties on top of the original fine amount. His own notice demanded $6 for each violation and threatened penalties of $57.50 if Madha failed to pay by Jan. 9, 2016, he alleges.

By the time Madha paid the toll and associated penalties in May 2016, he says his total bill amount had risen to $232. He alleges these notices of toll evasion have resulted in thousands of dollars of revenue for The Toll Roads.

What makes The Toll Roads’ practice a deceptive and unfair business practice is that there is virtually no signage to alert drivers before they enter a stretch of road that requires a FasTrak transponder for toll payment, Madha argues. He says drivers have a reasonable expectation that upon using the toll road they will be able to pay via some other mode like cash or a credit card.

This is not the first time The Toll Roads has faced scrutiny from a class action lawsuit. In February, plaintiff Penny Davidi Borsuk filed a lawsuit against those responsible for operating unmanned cashless toll systems on California’s highways, after she was allegedly cited for tolls and fines that she wasn’t aware of until it was too late for her to contest them.

Madha alleges that The Toll Roads’ practices violate provisions of California’s Business and Professions Code. He also accuses them of negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

If certified, the proposed plaintiff Class will encompass all persons who paid a fine to The Toll Roads in response to a toll evasion notice during the applicable Class period.

Madha’s toll roads class action lawsuit seeks an award of damages and restitution of profits derived from The Toll Roads’ allegedly deceptive conduct, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs. He also seeks an injunction that would stop The Toll Roads from continuing the conduct Madha complains of here.

The plaintiff is represented by Aaron Dolgin, Michael J. Flannery and Charles J. LaDuca of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP; and Michael McShane and S. Clinton Woods of Audet & Partners LLP.

The Toll Roads Deceptive Business Practice Class Action Lawsuit is Ebrahim E. Mahda v. Transportation Corridor Agencies d/b/a The Toll Roads, Case No. 8:16-cv-00940, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On July 31, 2018, a federal judge certified a Class of drivers in a class action lawsuit alleging that California toll operators use personal information to collect toll payments. The judge also trimmed some of the claims in the case.