Photo Enforcement in Schaumburg, IL -- Class Action?

Dear Turning on Red in Schaumberg,

I am responding to your question with general information about how class actions work, but this message is not intended to convey legal advice pertinent to your particular situation and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. I am licensed in the State of Washington - not Illinois - and I cannot comment on whether you would have a viable civil claim against Schaumberg based on Illinois substantive law. To answer that question, you would might talk to a lawyer whose practice emphasizes Illinois traffic law or civil litigation or municipal liability. I do work on cases across the U.S. through local counsel but I am not qualified to answer your particular questions about Illinois substantive law and an allegedly missing traffic sign.

As to class actions, I will explain how they work in practice and then in theory. In practice, class action lawyers prefer cases where they can either make a significant impact that will improve people's lives through injunctive relief or where they can obtain a large amount of damages for a class of hundreds or thousands of people who suffered harm. In the case of a missing traffic sign, it is difficult to say (without knowing more about facts) whether injunctive relief (e.g., requiring Schaumburg to post a "No Turn on Red" sign) or recovery of damages would persuade a class action lawyer to take your case. Probably not.

In theory, anyone who has a viable legal claim can file a class action if she has good reason to believe that 40 or more people have suffered the same problem and, therefore, share a common issue of fact or law. Courts have certified classes with as few as 10 people but usually require some "common sense" indication that there are at least 40 people in the same situation. In a case regarding a traffic sign (or a missing traffic sign) that has caused some damage, it would be critical to have some belief that 40 or more people were somehow injured by the same sign (or lack of sign).

Next, if a person believed that 40 or more people belonged to the class that she sought to represent, then she could file a class action lawsuit in federal court (or maybe even in state court since many states permit class actions under state laws but those suits can be removed to federal court if there is diversity of citizenship between the parties or if criteria in the Class Action Fairness Act are met) listing herself as the "class representative." The case would not become a class action until her lawyer files a motion for class certification that is granted by the court. If the court denies the motion, there would be no class action, just an individual lawsuit. In other words, just because a person files a class action does not make it an automatic class action.

In a case over a traffic sign (or missing traffic sign), a putative class representative might sue for injunctive relief (i.e., requiring the town to change, remove, or install a certain traffic sign) and ask a federal court to certify the class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) on behalf of all class members seeking the same injunctive relief. If the class representative were to pursue monetary damages (instead or in addition to injunctive relief) and if such monetary relief were significant and not merely incidental to the injunctive relief, then the class representative's lawyer could ask the court to certify a class under FRCP 23(b)(3) but only if common issues predominate.

This overview gives basic information about how class actions work but I cannot, of course, give particular legal advice to you. You should consult a lawyer in Illinois. To see if a class action has been filed, you can search federal and state court records. If there is a case and it is certified, best practicable notice will go out by mail (if there are records of class members) and/or publication notice for class members to see in a local newspaper.

The short answer is you need to consult with an attorney. I recommend that you contact your local state or county bar association for a referral to an attorney who may be able to assist you. While your fact pattern seems straightforward enough, there are numerous details that need to be filled in, and an attorney can do that for you.