Others allowed to join Girard speed cam lawsuit under appeals court decision

A court ruling means hundreds of drivers will be permitted to join a lawsuit against the city of Girard over speed camera tickets issued along Interstate 80 in Girard.

The 11^th District Court of Appeals on Monday upheld an earlier decision by Trumbull County Judge Andrew Logan has declared the lawsuit as a class action.

Judge Logan ruled that drivers who were ticketed for driving faster than 55 along westbound I-80 in Girard between December 7th, 2017 and January 7th of 2018 can become plaintiffs in addition to the four that filed the original lawsuit in 2018.

It is estimated that Girard Police issued more than 7,700 tickets using a manned photo laser in that area during that time span.

Attorney Marc Dann with Dann Law in Cleveland argues in the lawsuit that when the construction was completed on I-80, the speed limit was restored to 65 miles an hour.  However, one sign was left on the road stating that the speed limit was 55 in that zone.

It was on that basis that Girard issued the speeding tickets, but Attorney Dann says that was not the correct speed.

He says the city has refused to reimburse drivers who dispute the tickets.

Dann says the appeals court ruling will allow the case to proceed in county court and is a sign that the case is “going in a positive direction for our clients”.