The Lanier Law Firm: Lawsuit Alleges Parking Garage Operator Scams Drivers with Unlawful Fines, Threats

By: The Lanier Law Firm via Business Wire

September 09, 2024 at 17:58 PM EDT

Claims may affect more than five million drivers annually in 40 cities nationwide

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in a Texas federal court alleging a parking garage operator has unlawfully coerced consumers into paying millions of dollars annually in unwarranted charges.

Video of the attorney discussing the case.

According to the filing, California-based Metropolis Technologies Inc. uses a “drive in and drive out payment experience” for garages and serves more than five million drivers in 40 cities nationwide each year. The company does not use conventional barriers or ticket dispensers when drivers enter or leave, relying instead on cameras to scan license plates and on small signs containing a QR code for use in submitting payments.

Consumers are expected to “notice the sign, have the knowledge and capability through a smart device to scan the QR code, and pay the requisite parking fee” the lawsuit states.

Confused drivers who fail to pay when leaving receive a violation notice from Metropolis demanding payment of the unpaid parking charge as well as an inflated “violation fine.” The lawsuit notes that in the case of one plaintiff, the parking charge was $5, and the violation fine was $70.25. Included in the notices are threats that Metropolis may tow or boot a vehicle or pursue additional charges if the fine is not paid.

“Metropolis touts the convenience of its technological innovation but in reality it has created a system that is designed to intentionally confuse, deceive, and charge unconscionable fees and fines from consumers for the benefit of its wealthy investors,” says Alex Brown of The Lanier Law Firm, co-counsel for the proposed class. “The audacity of the unlawful scheme is incredible.”

According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Dallas, Metropolis’s actions violate numerous federal and state statutes, including the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

“Our lawsuit alleges that Metropolis’s business model seems to be based on tricking and threatening consumers to generate revenue for the company and any other parking facility owners,” says Craig Haynes of Vartabedian Hester & Haynes in Dallas, also co-counsel for the plaintiffs. “Consumers are protected by law from such scams, and we intend to have those protections upheld.”

The proposed class is Frankfort, Goodban and Gutierrez et al. v. Metropolis Technologies Inc., No. 3:24-cv-02283-G in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.