Ruling rebuffs toll payers who use Mass. Pike
Plaintiffs vow to appeal denial of restraining order
A judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit filed against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority by toll payers has little chance of success, and he refused to issue a temporary restraining order that would have barred the agency from using turnpike tolls to pay for Big Dig debt and nontoll roads.
Middlesex Superior Court Judge Herman J. Smith Jr. concluded Monday that the plaintiffs, who now make up more than 2,500 toll payers, were unlikely to prove their claim that the tolls are unconstitutional taxes.
“The plaintiffs have the option, albeit less convenient, of taking alternate routes to their destinations, and they must pay the tolls only when they choose to utilize the toll portions’’ of the Metropolitan Highway System, Smith wrote.
The judge rejected the toll payers’ argument that they would suffer irreparable harm unless the court issued the restraining order.
Smith pointed out that the Turnpike Authority’s lawyers had argued that if the authority is prevented from diverting turnpike and tunnel tolls to cover other costs, it “would be unable to meet its financial obligations and could be forced to withhold essential services or even shut down entire segments of central roadways.’’
In his seven-page ruling, Smith wrote, “In view of the logistical problems that cutting highway services and/or diverting motor vehicle traffic would cause for an overwhelming segment of the general public, the court cannot say that the requested relief either promotes the public interest or would not adversely affect the public.’’
The judge is scheduled to hold a hearing in October on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Attorney Jan Schlichtmann, who represents the toll payers, said yesterday that he was disappointed by the ruling and planned to appeal to a single justice of the state Appeals Court, perhaps as early as today.
“The bottom line is we are not giving up,’’ Schlichtmann said in a telephone interview. “We will fight for the right of everyone in the Commonwealth to be treated with fundamental fairness and equity and not be subjected to unconstitutional fees and taxes.’’
The suit, filed on behalf of toll payers known as the Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity Trust, contends that more than half the money generated from tolls collected on the Massachusetts Turnpike, between Route 128 and Boston, and the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels is used to pay Big Dig debt and the cost of nontoll roads related to the project.
“I understand that some people do not like paying tolls, but that does not make them unlawful or unconstitutional,’’ Jeffrey B. Mullan, executive director of the Turnpike Authority, said in a phone interview yesterday. “It is the system that the Legislature has provided to us, and we are maintaining it the best we can.’’
Before 1997, the Turnpike Authority collected tolls only for the maintenance and operation of the Turnpike. But after legislation enacted that year, the Authority has used tolls collected on the Turnpike and tunnels to subsidize costs associated with the Big Dig.
“We’re not diverting our revenues,’’ Mullan said. “We are using all of the revenues we collect on our highway system for lawful purposes.’’
It is a system that has infuriated many toll payers, who insist they shoulder a disproportionate share of the cost of the Big Dig, while other drivers enjoy the benefits of the new roadways without paying any fee.
“This is a long way from over,’’ said Joel Feingold, of Framingham, one of the plaintiffs. “I believe we will prevail.’’
