LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The company that handles billing for the RiverLink toll network has agreed to a $2.5 million class-action settlement in a lawsuit about invoicing practices.
Gila LLC, the toll collector for the bridges between Louisville and southern Indiana, reached the deal in February in a case involving drivers who sued over late fees they claim were charged before an initial bill arrived. It still must be approved by a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Indiana.
The settlement only affects people who don’t have a RiverLink account but instead are billed by mail after crossing the I-65 Lincoln and Kennedy bridges and the Lewis and Clark Bridge.
Two types of drivers are eligible: those who paid fees on initial invoices that weren’t printed and mailed, and who haven’t already received a refund; and those who paid a $5 late fee after failing to pay their initial toll invoice.
The timing of RiverLink invoices and whether they comply with the states' policies have been an issue in the lawsuit. Representatives of Kentucky and Indiana state governments, through a “joint board” of top finance and transportation officials, created a set of rules for how tolls are collected.
Those rules call for toll notices to be due 35 days after they are generated and mailed within five days after they are created, giving drivers 30 days to pay.
Attorneys in the lawsuit argue the rules haven’t been followed. They claim in court documents that RiverLink operators set due dates 29 days after invoices are generated, but before they are printed and mailed, “making it impossible to provide 30 days to make payment after mailing.”
As part of the tentative settlement, Gila agreed to change the due date on mailed bills to 38 days and ask for the joint board to update that payment window in the toll system’s business rules.
Kapsch TrafficCom, the main contractor that runs RiverLink for the two states, has not agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit and is not affected by the Gila settlement.
Gila doesn’t admit any wrongdoing but says in court documents it chose to settle to avoid the expense and inconvenience of more litigation.
Drivers have begun receiving mail altering them that they may be part of the settlement class.
A hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for June.
This story will be updated.
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