Investigation: Drivers File Class-Action Lawsuit Over Stop Sign Cameras

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Last year, CBS2 Investigative Reporter David Goldstein exposed stop sign cameras for nailing unsuspecting drivers who were charged millions of dollars in fines. Now, many of those drivers have turned the corner, literally. They have filed a class-action lawsuit trying to recoup some of the money they lost.

"This, to me, is ludicrous frankly."

A rolling California stop caught on tape cost Diane Wagner $175. She drove to Franklin Canyon Park off Mulholland and Coldwater to go hiking with a friend, when she got to a stop sign. She never noticed the "photo enforced" sign underneath -- one of six controversial cameras set up in two state parks in Southern California.

Wagner did what many people do. She slowed down almost to a stop. Long enough -- she says -- to make sure it was safe. But not long enough for the long lens of the law.

"It doesn't make much logical sense to me. It seems we the taxpayer have a lot better places to put our money these days to protect the public than cameras like this at a park where there's virtually no traffic at all," she said.

But even if you have never gone through one of these stops signs and paid a ticket, as a taxpayer, you're still paying. That's because we found the state agency that runs these parks has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money defending the cameras in court.

We obtained bill after bill after bill for legal fees fighting to keep the cameras running. In fact, $348,000 in attorneys' fees since the cameras were installed in 2007. That includes more than $12,000 in travel costs just to fly a lawyer in from San Francisco.

So isn't $12,000 in travel fees a waste of taxpayer money?

The money is being used to fight some violators, who are fighting back. Since we first exposed the cameras almost a year ago, this class action lawsuit has withstood legal challenges and will go to trial later this year -- on behalf of everyone who got a stop sign camera ticket.

"I was a happy park goer," it was filed by Gareth Estwick. He got one of the tickets at a stop sign in Temescal Canyon -- and decided to take it to court.

"We're not really seeking monetary damages anymore. We just want them to stop the process of their illegal stop sign enforcement," shared Estwick.

He contends it's illegal because the state has not authorized stop sign cameras. No city in California has them. But the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, which runs the park, created its own ordinance allowing the cameras. Opponents say they did it for one reason.

"It's a lot of money. Just plop down a stop sign any place you like and start raking in the dough," explained Estwick.

In the first six months of this year, the cameras took in over a million dollars in fines. That is more than 6,000 citations for just six cameras.

"This is about generating revenue," said Jay Beeber who runs a blog dedicated to fiscal responsibility in government.

"They don't care about safety. They care about the revenue. And that's what this is all about."

But park officials say safety is their only goal and they are prepared to fight all the way to the Supreme Court to keep the cameras rolling -- no matter what the cost.

Until the courts decide, the cameras will still roll and motorists, who are used to a rolling stop, will have to hit the brakes all the way or face a fine they never expected.

David Goldstein, CBS2 News