Appeals Court Refuses to Allow Suit Over Delaware Bridge Tolls
coalition of trucking groups, led by American Trucking Associations, does not have a right to sue a Delaware River toll agency to roll back a 300% toll increase, a federal appeals court ruled, upholding a lower court decision.
ATA had argued that the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission鈥檚 2001 action raising tolls to $13.75 for a five-axle truck from $4 was not 鈥渏ust and reasonable,鈥 as required by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1987, and sued in 2002.But the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2005 district court ruling dismissing ATA鈥檚 lawsuit. The lower court had ruled that the 1987 law did not 鈥渟pecifically create a private cause of action,鈥 that would allow private groups to seek judicial relief.