Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Reposting based on answers: I was just served judgement papers from the Orange County Transit Authority attorneys. I don't have any money to hire an attorney. What do I do? This is crazy they want $54,000. The $54,000 is not all tolls. I believe the actual toll violation is $325 the rest is what they deem to be fees and penalties. OC Register wrote an article about it how there was a class action lawsuit because of the crazy penalties the courts requested them to reduce it. So this is their idea of reducing it.
It's also stands to point out that the transponder continues to work and you continue to hear it beep letting you assume that it's working even though the credit card on file might not be approved. During the time that I was travelling I had someone else paying my bills and was paying my credit card. I assumed because I used it and it beeped that it was working; they assumed that because it was not on my credit card that I wasn't using it. There was alot of assumptions being made and of that I'm guilty; however $53,000 more? Not until the time that I was pulled which was months later by the Highway Patrol that I was told that the credit card was not being charged and that he was picking up my transponder did I know there was a problem. Shortly after I received the first lawsuit papers. Then the hold on everything as the class action lawsuit was decided.
To the attorney that commented that I shouldn't have used it or that I had money then for gas. It was never a matter of using something that I wasn't paying for. I have no criminal record and have always paid my bills, however while supporting my elderly mother and other expenses including school expenses $54,000 is crazy.
As you read please be empathetic and remember not everyone driving down the toll roads are trying to get a free ride. The fine does not justify the penalties; however I don't have the purse to hire an attorney that can go against OCTA attorneys.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You had to have ignored a lot of notices and probably blown off some court dates to get to that total. I'm not sure what you can do without an attorney except try to negotiate them down or file for bankruptcy if you qualify.
There are no court dates in OCTA judgment proceedings, just a judgment. I'm glad to hear you claim not to be a toll evader, but this doesn't change the analysis. Your story is hard to believe and I'm sorry to hear you can't afford an attorney.
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