Checks were mailed this week to nearly 16,800 people due refunds on Minneapolis traffic tickets they paid before courts struck down the city's PhotoCop red-light enforcement effort.
Lawyer Marshall Tanick, who represented those who sought refunds in a class-action lawsuit, said about $2.5 million is being distributed in refunds agreed to in a settlement of the case. Tanick said that amounts will vary depending on how big a ticket was paid, but typical refunds will be around $120.
The city's photo surveillance program, which operated in 2005 and 2006, used images of vehicles that ran red lights to cite the owners of the vehicles. The Minnesota Supreme Court last year affirmed a lower-court ruling that it is unconstitutional to hold the owner of a vehicle responsible for the actions of anyone who might be driving the vehicle.
STEVE BRANDT
