Weaver v. O'Grady

350 F. Supp. 403, 33 Ohio Misc. 97, 62 Ohio Op. 2d 150, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11412
District Court, S.D. Ohio·Decided October 27, 1972·No. Civ. No. 71-291·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CARL B. RUBIN, District Judge.

This matter, which involves the constitutionality of various provisions of Ohio’s Financial Responsibility Act, is before the Court on the briefs, stipulations, answers to interrogatories and admissions of the parties. The present action for injunctive and declaratory relief is authorized by 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to redress alleged deprivations under color of law of rights, privileges and immunities secured to the plaintiffs by the First, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, U.S.Const. Art. VI, cl. 2, and the Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C. § 35. Jurisdiction is conferred upon the court by 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3), (4) and 28 U.S.C. § 2201.1

In an earlier Order dated December 15, 1971, this Court determined that the legal principles enunciated in Perez v. Campbell, 402 U.S. 637, 91 S.Ct. 1704, 29 L.Ed.2d 233 (1971) and Bell v. Burson, 402 U.S. 535, 91 S.Ct. 1586, 29 L.Ed.2d 90 (1971), were applicable to the case at bar and made unnecessary the convocation of a three-judge court.

The plaintiffs in this class action2 are composed of two distinct subclasses affected by Ohio’s Financial Responsibility Act (hereinafter the Act), O.R.C. § 4509.01 et seq. The first subclass (hereinafter the first subclass) consists of approximately 37,000 persons who have been deprived of their rights to drivers’ licenses because of a failure to satisfy judgments taken against them arising out of their involvement in an automobile- accident.3 Under O.R.C. § 4509.43 they are prevented from regaining their license even if the underlying judgment is discharged in bankruptcy. Members of the class allege that the Act violates the Supremacy Clause as inter[406] preted by the Court in Perez v. Campbell, supra.

The second subclass (hereinafter the second subclass) consists of 45,000 persons whose licenses have been suspended for failure to post the security deposit which is required by the Act. Members of this class have not yet been subject to judgment. They claim that under the holding of Bell v. Burson, supra, they should be entitled to a due process hearing, prior to suspension, at which they would have the opportunity of demonstrating that they will not be ultimately liable in judgment for the accident.4

The Ohio statutory scheme, as contained in O.R.C. §§ 4509.01 to 4509.99, is similar to statutes now in effect in most states and to the Georgia law reviewed by the Court in Bell v. Burson, supra. Most of the state laws were patterned after a statute first adopted by New Hampshire. See Vorys, The New Ohio Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act, 50 O.O. 102 (1953). The Ohio act applies to owners and drivers of motor vehicles which are operated in Ohio and is administered by the defendants who are the State’s Director of the Department of Highway Safety and its Registrar of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The act requires the driver of a motor vehicle which is involved in an accident to send a report of the accident to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (hereinafter the Bureau) within thirty days of its occurrence. O.R.C. § 4509.06. The accident report form is prescribed by the Bureau. A person who is required to file a report and fails to do so may have his license suspended until a report is filed. O.R.C. § 4509.09.

If a driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident returns a report showing that he does not have the required insurance, the Registrar of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles makes a determination as to the amount of security which he feels is sufficient to satisfy any judgment which might result from the accident against the uninsured driver of the motor vehicle, or the owner, or both. The prescribed accident report contains a space for an estimate of property damage and personal injury which is used to determine the amount of security. If any personal injury resulted, the amount of security has to be at least $500.00. O.R.C. § 4509.12.

Within 50 days from the receipt of an accident report the Registrar sends notice to the driver and/or owner of a motor vehicle who has not filed proof of responsibility advising him of the amount of security required to be deposited with the Registrar. The notice also advises him that failure to deposit the security will result in the suspension of his driver’s license. O.R.C. Sec. 4509.13. If upon further investigation the Registrar finds the security to be excessive, he may reduce the amount required, but in no case can it be less than $500.00 if the accident resulted in personal injury. O.R.C. Sec. 4509.14. The security may be in the form of money, United States Bonds, state bonds, or municipal bonds, or a corporate surety bond. O.R.C. See. 4509.15.

There are certain exceptions to the security deposit requirement. These include, drivers or owners of motor vehicles where the only injury or damage was to the driver’s vehicle, drivers or owners of motor vehicles legally parked, owners of motor vehicles which were being operated without the owner’s permission, motor vehicles owned by the State of Ohio, motor vehicles used by a police officer responding to an emergency, and various other technical exceptions. O.R.C. Sec. 4509.19.

[407] A person may be relieved from the security deposit requirement if he gets a release from all parties, including insurance companies, which were involved in the accident. A covenant not to sue is also acceptable. O.R.C. See. 4509.21. Security requirements are only released upon a final adjudication of nonliability (O.R.C. Sec. 4509.22), or the payment in full of a judgment (O.R.C. See. 4509.23), or when the parties enter into a settlement agreement. If a settlement agreement is breached, the suspension is reinstated until the entire obligation is paid, or security is deposited with the Registrar, or until two years has elapsed following the breach of the agreement. O. R.C. Sec. 4509.24.

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Weaver v. O'Grady, 350 F. Supp. 403, 33 Ohio Misc. 97, 62 Ohio Op. 2d 150, 1972 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11412 (S.D. Ohio 1972).

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