Kelen v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority

22 Mass. L. Rptr. 456
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedMay 3, 2007
DocketNo. 060839BLS1
StatusPublished

This text of 22 Mass. L. Rptr. 456 (Kelen v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelen v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, 22 Mass. L. Rptr. 456 (Mass. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

van Gestel, Allan, J.

The plaintiffs, Edgar Kelen (“Kelen”) and Christopher Pachus (“Pachus”), have filed a class action complaint challenging the constitutionality of a toll discount program (“toll program”) of the defendants, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (“MTA”) and the Massachusetts Port Authority (“Massport”). They rely on the United States Constitution and the Massachusetts State Constitution. The plaintiffs have alleged, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983, that the defendants violated the constitutional rights of them, and the class they purport to represent, by implementing and enforcing discount toll practices in and around Boston, Massachusetts.

Pending under Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) are the defendants’ motions to dismiss: Defendant Massport and Kinton’s Motion to Dismiss, Paper #14; and Motion to Dismiss of Defendants Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Matthew J. Amorello, Paper #18.

BACKGROUND

Kelen is a resident of the State of New York, and his non-commercial vehicle is registered to his place of residence. Pachus is a resident of Massachusetts, and his two non-commercial vehicles are registered to his place of residence. Both participate in the MTA’s Fast Lane Discount Program (“Fast Lane”). The Fast Lane program enables customers to pay tolls without stopping by use of a small electronic device called a transponder.1

Currently, the toll for a non-cómmercial passenger vehicle that uses the Sumner or Ted Williams Tunnel is ordinarily $3.00, but is $2.50 when the vehicle is equipped with the standard Fast Lane transponder, and only $0.40 for residents of East Boston, South Boston, or the North End in Boston.2 Similarly, the toll for a non-commercial passenger vehicle that uses the Tobin Memorial Bridge is $2.50 when equipped with the standard Fast Lane transponder, but only $0.30 for residents of Charlestown and Chelsea, Massachusetts.3 The MTA administers the Sumner and Ted Williams Tunnels.

Massport is an independent authority and it administers the Tobin Memorial Bridge.

On September 26, 2005, Kelen paid a toll of $2.50 for transit through the Sumner Tunnel, and on the same day paid a $2.50 toll for passage over the Tobin Memorial Bridge. On February 27, 2003, Pachus paid a toll of $2.50 for transit through the Sumner Tunnel and a toll of $2.50 for transit through the Ted Williams Tunnel. Pachus has also used the Tobin Memorial Bridge, paying tolls of $2.50. Neither Kelen nor Pachus is eligible to receive the toll program discount because neither is a resident of the above identified areas.

Kelen and Pachus allege that the toll program violates (1) the Federal and State Equal Protection Clauses; (2) the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution; and (3) the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution; all under 42 U.S.C. §1983. Kelen and Pachus seek damages byway of a refund of user fees allegedly overpaid, on a theoiy of unjust enrichment. The MTA and its Chairman (“MTA defendants”) and Massport and its Chief Executive Officer (“Massport defendants”) each have filed motions to dismiss pursuant Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

DISCUSSION

Pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. §12(b)(6), this court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint, as well as any reasonable inferences to be drawn in the plaintiffs’ favor. Eyal v. Helen Broad. Corp., 411 Mass. 426, 429 (1991). Kelen and Pachus “need only surmount a minimal hurdle to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.” Bell v. Mazza, 394 Mass. 176, 184 (1985). A “complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to [457]*457relief.” Nader v. Citron, 372 Mass. 96, 98 (1977), quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957).

Equal Protection

Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits a state from “denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” See City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Ctr., 473 U.S. 432, 439 (1985). The equal protection clause prevents states from purposefully discriminating between individuals based on sex, race, color, creed, or national origin. See Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630, 642 (1993); Cote-Whiteacre v. Dep’t of Pub. Health, 446 Mass. 350, 366 (2006). “(A) classification involving a suspect group or a fundamental right must be supported by a compelling State interest.” Lee v. Comm'r of Revenue, 395 Mass. 527, 529-30 (1985). “Cases not involving a suspect group or fundamental right need be supported only by a rational or conceivable basis.” Lee, 359 Mass. at 530. See also Cote-Whiteacre, 446 Mass. at 366-67.

Kelen and Pachus argue that due to the toll program, their right to travel has been violated. It is beyond dispute that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a fundamental right to travel. Attorney Gen. of New York v. Soto-Lopez, 476 U.S. 898, 901-03 (1986). The right to travel “protects travelers against two types of burdens: ‘the erection of actual barriers to interstate movement’ and ‘being treated differently’ from intrastate travelers.” Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, 506 U.S. 263, 277 (1993), quoting Zobel v. Wilson, 457 U.S. 55, 60 n.6 (1982). See also Sanez v. Roe, 526 U.S. 489, 500 (1999). “A state law implicates the right to travel when it actually deters such travel, . . when impeding travel is its primary objective, . . . or when it uses any classification which serves to penalize the exercise of that right.” Soto-Lopez, 476 U.S. at 903.

Kelen and Pachus must meet the test established in Soto-Lopez to demonstrate that their claim is within the relevant zone of interest to be protected. Id. They must allege that the toll program (1) actually deters interstate travel by placing an unlawful burden on their right to enter and leave the state, (2) impedes interstate travel as its primary objective, or (3) uses an impermissible classification, such as race or religion, which penalizes the exercise of their right to interstate travel. See Selevan v. New York Thruway Auth., 470 F.Sup.2d 158, 176 (N.D.N.Y. 2007). Kelen and Pachus have failed to do so. They do not allege, nor could they prove, how the toll program places an unlawful burden on their right to enter and leave the Commonwealth, nor do they demonstrate how the toll program impedes interstate travel as its primary objective. The only “actual barriers to . . . movement” that result from the toll program are located on certain tunnels and a bridge entering and exiting the city of Boston, restricting movement from one area of Massachusetts to another, not restricting movement from state to state. See Bray, 506 U.S. at 277. “Such a purely intrastate restriction does not implicate the right of interstate travel, even if it was applied intentionally against travelers from other States, unless it is applied discriminatorily against them.” Id.

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Bluebook (online)
22 Mass. L. Rptr. 456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelen-v-massachusetts-turnpike-authority-masssuperct-2007.