Opinion ID: 2514737
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Undisputed Facts and Allegations

Text: ¶2 Because the record before this court is abysmally deficient, the undisputed facts are few. The record on appeal shows the following undisputed facts. On January 20th, 2005, Franklin House (House), the plaintiff in this case, received a citation for reckless driving in violation of a Town of Dickson (Dickson) penal ordinance. On February 19, 2005, he paid a fine of $389.00 for the violation. At the time, the latest Dickson ordinances deposited in the county law library were dated 1992, and no resolutions for the Dickson governing body were on file at the Carter County Clerk's office. ¶3 House made the following allegations and arguments before the trial court in this case. The fine was excessive because Dickson had not filed any ordinances in the Carter County Law Library since November 1, 1992, and had not filed any resolutions with the county clerk. Under title 11, section 14-111(E), [1] a municipality cannot levy a fine of more than $50.00 until it has compiled and published its penal ordinances as required by sections 14-109 [2] and 14-110. [3] Section 14-109 requires a municipality to compile and publish its ordinances at least once every ten years and publish biennial supplements. Under section 14-110, upon a municipality compiling the permanent volume of its ordinances and biennial supplement, its governing body must adopt a resolution so notifying the public, must file it in the county clerk's office, and must deposit a copy in the county law library. Dickson did not comply with sections 14-109 and 14-110 by filing a copy of a resolution notifying the public of the publication of its penal ordinances and by depositing a copy of the compilation in the county law library. Thus, Dickson was statutorily prohibited by title 11, section 14-111(E) from levying a fine of more than $50.00. ¶4 House sought class certification for all persons who had paid fines to Dickson in excess of $50.00 since November 1, 2002. In his petition filed in the district court, House requested that Dickson be enjoined from collecting fines of more than $50.00 from any member of the Plaintiff's class, sought judgment in his favor of $339.00 together with interest and costs, and judgment in favor of members of the Plaintiff's class in an amount of fines paid in excess of $50.00 with interest and costs. ¶5 Dickson filed an objection to House's motion for summary judgment and a counter-motion for summary judgment which it supported with evidentiary materials. Dickson's allegations follow. Dickson contracted with a company to codify all ordinances from 1991 to 2001 and to codify all new ordinances by June 30th of every year thereafter. On October 15, 2002, Dickson's Board of Trustees passed a resolution (1) notifying the public of the publication of the 2002 Supplement to the Code of Ordinances and making copies available for review in its clerk-treasurer's office, (2) directing its clerk-treasurer to file a copy of the resolution in the Carter County Clerk's office, (3) directing its clerk-treasurer to file a copy of the resolution and a copy of the supplement to the code with the Carter County Law Library, and (4) directing its clerk-treasurer to retain a copy in the office for public use, inspection, and examination. The Dickson clerk asked the Dickson Chief of Police to deliver a copy of the Dickson Code of Ordinances to the Carter County Law Librarian. When the police chief arrived at the Carter County Law Library, he could not get into the library, he asked a district attorney's employee for assistance, and the library was empty once he gained access. The police chief left a copy of Dickson's Code of Ordinances with a county employee who said she would deliver it to the county law librarian. Dickson in its counter-motion for summary judgment asserts that even if it had not fully complied with the statutory requirements, it was in substantial compliance.