Toll Equity Trust Blog

Today, Toll Equity Attorneys were in Boston to petition a single justice of the state Appeals Court to overturn a Middlesex Superior Court ruling that allows the Turnpike Authority to continue diverting toll revenues to pay for Big Dig debt and the cost to maintain the Central Artery Tunnel that millions use free of charge.

The petition cites “clear errors” of Constitutional law in the ruling issued last week in Middlesex Superior Court denying Toll Payers request for an injunction blocking the Turnpike from continuing to divert tolls to pay for the Big Dig roads.

“This petition is based on a simple ugly truth: The Turnpike Authority makes tollpayers pay for Big Dig debt and the costs to maintain the Central Artery that millions use free of charge,” said lead attorney Jan Schlichtmann.

Read more here (Adobe Acrobat required).

Statement from Jan Schlichtmann, lead attorney, Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity Trust

“We are of course disappointed with the ruling today but our cause endures and the 2,300-strong Toll Equity Trust will immediately appeal this ruling. We believe there is a fundamental constitutional principal involved that must be vindicated: The government cannot constitutionally charge some drivers to use a road system in order for most of the drivers to use it for free. We will immediately petition the Appeals Court to right this wrong and uphold the basic constitutional principal that governmental fees must be fair and equitable.”

The Turnpike Authority’s legal team was out in full force today to try to quash the tollpayer rebellion for fairness in their midst as the Toll Equity class action lawsuit burst back into the courtroom.

Much like their strongly-worded statement earlier this week at the behest of Governor Deval Patrick (you remember, the one where they called our claims “baseless” and chided us – the tollpayers – for wasting cherished Turnpike dollars), the Turnpike came ready for a fight.

Turnpike lawyer Brian Kaplan. tried to throw everything including the kitchen sink at our attorney, Jan Schlichtmann – including baseless personal attacks on Jan, myths about this lawsuit shutting down the highway and lots of financial smoke and mirrors. He summed it up best when he said of tollpayer claims of unfairness, “So what?” Read the rest of this entry »

Major Arguments Today in Turnpike Toll Equity Case
Motion for Restraining Order, Traffic Study Subject of Oral Arguments

WOBURN – Lawyers for more than 2,300 tollpayers in the class action lawsuit against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority over the diversion of tolls to pay for The Big Dig head to court today for key oral arguments in the case.

Attorney Jan Schlichtmann will argue before Judge Herman Smith on his request for a restraining order stopping the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority from continuing to divert toll revenue collected from the Pike and tunnels to pay for the Big Dig. Attorneys will also discuss a new traffic study, which shows that only 46 percent of the estimated 632,000 cars driving on Interstate 93, Interstate 90, and the Callahan and Sumner tunnels pay tolls. The data shows that every driver who pays tolls is paying for themselves and one other driver getting a free ride.

Schlictmann and tollpayers joining the suit will be available to the media at 1:30 PM outside the courthouse before the 2 PM court hearing. They will discuss the motion, the traffic study and the Turnpike’s surprise response to Treasurer Tim Cahill’s comments on the case yesterday. Read the rest of this entry »

Below is the statement released today from Jan Schlichtmann, lead attorney for the Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity Trust, regarding comments from the Turnpike Authority today regarding the suit and Treasurer Tim Cahill.

“It is shocking that Governor Patrick and his Turnpike Authority would so roundly dismiss the common sense complaints of drivers who for 10 years have been carrying the unfair burden of paying for the Big Dig while others drive it for free. The data released today shows for the first time that every tollpayer on the Turnpike and in the tunnels is paying for themselves and another driver who gets a free ride. That is plainly unjust and unfair and strikes to the heart of our case that these tolls are really taxes in disguise.

“Treasurer Cahill boldly stood up and asked the Governor and Attorney General to take tollpayer concerns seriously, to sit down with us and seek an equitable solution for the entire Commonwealth. It’s a shame this Governor, like so many before, decided to ignore tollpayers and instead stand with the Big Dig establishment.”

For years, drivers on the Mass Turnpike and who use the tunnels coming from the North Shore have known the unfairness of our tolling system. If you live in MetroWest or the North Shore, you pay. If you live off I-93, you ride for free.

But no one had ever done any hard and fast research to see just how bad the inequity is. Well, thanks to the Toll Equity Trust, that has all changed.

In data published in this morning’s Boston Globe, our effort showcased data researched by Kim Hazarvartian, a respected traffic engineer hired by the Trust. In his report, Hazarvartian found that of the 632,000 cars which use the highways around Boston on the average weekday, 288,000 pay tolls – about 46 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

The word on toll equity is most definitely spreading and people are naturally starting to take notice.

Today, the people of Wellesley are reading about the bold actions of their friends and neighbors who have signed on to our toll equity effort. Check out this story from the Wellesley Townsman, titled “Frustrated Drivers, Including Some from Wellesley, Sue Over Pike Tolls.”

Check out the story of Charles Ellis, who has to drive into Cambridge three or four times a week and tries when he can to go around the tolls to save on his costs. Any of you who drive on Route 16 – particularly during rush hour – know the kind of pain that can cause.

But Charles is doing it, like so many of you, not just because the costs of the Pike are exorbitant but because he knows like you all do that the Pike has admitted 58 cents of every dollar that comes out of his Fast Lane account or that goes into the toll-taker’s hand is being diverted to pay for a highway he uses far less often and millions drive on for free every year.

Amazing, but true. Read the rest of this entry »

The last 24 hours have brought a sea-change in our efforts as state Treasurer Tim Cahill authored a strongly-worded letter to Governor Deval Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley urging them to take the toll equity suit seriously and sit down with us to settle.

Two of the leaders of our effort, famed plaintiffs’ attorney Jan Schlichtmann and former Romney administration chief legal counsel Daniel Winslow appeared at a State House news conference with two tollpayers – Bob Ackley of Southborough and Joel Feingold of Framingham. On the sweltering pavement in the shadow of the Golden Dome, Jan, Dan, Bob and Joel thanked the Treasurer for his stand and legislators and the Governor for standing with us to ensure that toll equity is the law of the land going forward.

Schlictmann asked again that Governor Patrick and the Turnpike begin to take our claims seriously, to respect the more than 2,000 tollpayers who have signed on to our suit and sit down with us to settle this case for the good of everyone in the Commonwealth. Read the rest of this entry »

BOSTON – Lawyers and tollpayers involved in the Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity lawsuit will hold a press availability TODAY at 12 noon outside the State House to discuss Treasurer Tim Cahill’s move to help settle the class action lawsuit claiming tolls have been illegally diverted to fund The Big Dig.

Attorney Jan Schlichtmann, former Romney chief legal counsel Dan Winslow and tollpayer Bob Ackley will be available in the well of the State House on Beacon Street to the media.

The group will discuss the move by Treasurer Cahill to seek resolution in the case. Cahill, after meeting with the legal team last week, sent a letter to Governor Patrick and Attorney General Coakley yesterday urging the administration and chief law enforcement official to settle the case before a critical August 6 hearing.

More than 2,000 tollpayers have signed on to the class action lawsuit against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority over the diversion of tolls to pay for The Big Dig. On August 6, a Middlesex Superior Court judge will hear arguments in the plaintiff’s request for a restraining order blocking the Turnpike from further toll diversions.

WHO: Attorney Jan Schlictmann
Attorney Daniel Winslow
Tollpayer Bob Ackley

WHAT: Press availability to discuss Treasurer Cahill and the Turnpike toll suit

WHERE: Outside State House
Beacon Street
Boston

WHEN: 12 p.m. TODAY