Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
City Of L.A. Can't Let A Private Company Handle Parking Ticket Disputes, Court Rules
Breakin' the law. (Photo by Lord Jim via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
()
Getting a parking ticket sucks. Disputing a parking ticket that was wrongfully issued sucks even more. Now, after a ruling by a state court, the city of Los Angeles has to change the way the appeals are handled.On Monday, the California Court of Appeal ruled in a decision that L.A. cannot continue letting Xerox and a subcontractor known as PRWT Services handle the review of disputed tickets. "Based on the language of [the Vehicle Code] and relevant legislative history, we hold, as did the trial court, that the City is required to conduct the initial review, and cannot contract with Xerox to perform that duty," said the court in their decision (link opens as a .doc file).
Xerox (yes, the copy machine guys), if you didn't know, is hired by the city to process parking tickets. Attorney Caleb Marker, who represented Cody Weiss in the initial lawsuit, told NBC 4, "We don’t believe it's fair the way it's administered right now through PRWT and Xerox; they only allow their employees three minutes to review a single parking ticket challenge."
The court ruled that the system had an "inherent conflict of interest" since Xerox and PRWT were also earning a profit on the tickets that were issued. Some retired parking enforcement officers have gone so far as to claim they were given quotas on the number of tickets they issued per day.
While the hope is that the ruling would mean a more transparent system for the appeal process could be put into place, it seems like the city of Los Angeles won't go down without a fight. "We are currently reviewing our appellate options," the city told NBC 4.
Support for LAist comes from
Related:
Map: Here's Where The Most Parking Tickets Are Handed Out In L.A.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. -
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain. -
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility. -
UCLA and University of California leaders are fighting Trump’s demands for a $1.2 billion settlement over a litany of accusations, including that the campus permits antisemitism. -
Wasteland Weekend is all about souped-up rust buckets, spikey costumes and an ‘ideal apocalypse.’ -
The Shadow the Scientists initiative at UC Santa Cruz strives to demystify astronomical research.
Best of LAist