California Drivers Strike $41M Deal With Transport Authority Over Toll Collection Methods

After five years of “hard-fought litigation” and more than half-a-million pages of documentation, California drivers have struck a $41 million settlement deal with Orange County toll operators, who they claim violated privacy laws while collecting tolls and fines.

Plaintiff Dan Golka asked a judge to grant preliminary approval of the settlement with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and tolling operator Cofiroute USA in a motion filed Monday in a California federal court.

“Class Counsel believe that the settlement amounts reached here are an excellent result for the Settlement Class, particularly given the risks attendant to further litigation,” the motion states. “The settlement provides meaningful monetary and programmatic relief.”

The Allegations

The deal springs from allegations first filed in court in 2016, accusing the authority and its contractors of abusing their access to driver information, and illegally sharing it with third-parties to enforce tolls.

The drivers alleged toll operators would send their information to the DMV so it could block their vehicle registration renewals until outstanding tolls were paid in full. They also said driver information was sent to the California Franchise Tax Board, where their tax refund or lottery winnings might be docked to pay for outstanding tolls.

The class action was brought under the California Streets and Highways Code, alleging the toll operators violated the law by improperly giving drivers’ personal identifying information to dozens of third parties. Breaking this law subjected the toll operators to statutory damages of $2,500 to $4,000 per violation, drivers argued.

The Settlement

The $41 million settlement is made up of $1 million cash for eligible Class members, as well as penalty forgiveness of $40 million. 

The Class includes drivers whose personal information was provided by OCTA or Cofiroute to agencies including the TCA or other California toll agency, the California Department of Motor Vehicles or out-of-state equivalent or a car rental company or a third-party debt collector for the purpose of collecting a toll on the 91 Express Lanes. 

The settlement also includes internal policy changes, including a reduction of the maximum penalty imposed by the OCTA for toll violations, and an agreement that OCTA and Cofiroute will not provide additional personal information to third-party debt collectors.

Years of Hard Fought Litigation 

Golka said the settlement had been reached after “five years of hard-fought litigation,” multiple motions to dismiss and “review of over 500,000 pages of documents.”

The California toll class action was originally filed in February 2016. In April of the same year, the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) motioned to dismiss the claims, citing multiple holes in the drivers’ argument.

In January 2017, Judge Guilford found that the drivers in the case did not exhaust all administrative remedies before filing their California toll class action, but gave them the chance to amend their claims and resubmit as a consolidated class action. The Class was finally certified in 2018.

What do you think of this settlement for Orange County motorists? Let us know in the comments!

The motorists are represented by Helen I. Zeldes and Ben Travis of Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes LLP, Blake J. Lindemann of Lindemann Law Firm APC and Michael J. Flannery of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP.

The California Road Tolls Class Action Settlement is In re: Toll Roads Litigation, Case No. 8:16-cv-00262, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. 

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