Judge rules against city of Chicago in red-light camera suit

CHICAGO (AP) - A Cook County judge has denied a request from the city of Chicago to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it denied due process to motorists ticketed under its red-light camera program.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports (http://bit.ly/1RYVEWa ) that Judge Kathleen Kennedy's late Friday ruling declares the tickets void and keeps alive a lawsuit seeking to have the city refund hundreds of millions of dollars to motorists ticketed since 2003.

Plaintiffs' attorney Jacie Zolna can now move forward with a request for class-action status. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three named plaintiffs, argued the city violated a requirement to issue a second notice of violation before a determination of liability was issued against motorists.

City Law Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey says the city believes the plaintiffs aren't entitled to "any recovery, let alone any refunds."

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Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://chicago.suntimes.com/