Truckers ordered to pay own legal bills from failed RI toll lawsuit

A federal judge has ordered the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to pay its own legal bills following its unsuccessful lawsuit against Rhode Island’s truck toll system. The ATA sought $21 million in attorneys’ fees and costs, but Judge John McConnell Jr. ruled they must cover their own expenses, ordering them to pay Rhode Island $199,281. The state had initially sought $9 million in reimbursement, but that was previously deemed unlikely.

The legal battle, which began in 2018, centered on the constitutionality of the toll system. While the First Circuit Court of Appeals found an in-state trucker discount unconstitutional, the court upheld the broader concept of truck tolls, allowing the state to relaunch the system without the discount. The judge determined that the ATA did not achieve a substantial benefit from the ruling, as the removal of the discount would likely result in higher tolls for truckers.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation intends to relaunch the truck toll network around March 2027, after it was temporarily halted in 2022 by a separate ruling. Magistrate Judge Patricia Sullivan had previously criticized the ATA’s legal counsel for overbilling and overstaffing, but Judge McConnell ultimately denied any reimbursement for legal fees.

(Source：The Providence Journal)