SPOKANE, Wash. (Legal Newsline) – A driver ticketed for speeding in a school zone will have to overturn the fine he paid in order to sue the City of Spokane over the citation.
Those are the instructions laid out by the Washington Court of Appeals in Chris Williams’ proposed class action lawsuit against the City of Spokane that says he hadn’t yet entered the school zone when he was caught speeding.
The flashing beacon for the school zone was installed 385 feet from a marked school crosswalk, which would be 85 feet beyond the lawful boundary if the crosswalk is determined to be the edge of the school area.
Williams should have gone to municipal court to overturn the $234 fine he paid before filing an unjust enrichment lawsuit, the court ruled.
“Chris Williams suggests that the fact that he paid his ticket gives him standing to seek a declaratory judgment,” Judge George Fearing wrote.
“We reject this argument because the contention conflicts with our decision that Williams must reverse any ticket penalty by bringing a motion to vacate in the municipal court judgment.
“Suing for declaratory relief that the fine was unlawful is an indirect attack on the municipal court judgment. Williams cannot assert any legal harm that would give him standing unless and until he shows that the judgment should be vacated.”