A Rockland County trucking company claims that E-ZPass overcharged it by nearly $100,000 last year for tolls on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and that other motorists may have paid tens of millions of dollars more than required.
RJL Industries, of Blauvelt, filed a class action lawsuit against four vendors that make E-ZPass equipment and manage the tolling system, in a complaint filed on Nov. 6 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
The vendors failed to fix problems, according to the complaint, and instead have turned E-ZPass “into a profit-making endeavor that imposes unfair and improper toll rates.”
The vendors include Conduent Inc. of Florham Park, New Jersey that processes payments; Kapsch TrafficCom USA Inc. of Duluth, Georgia that supplies transponders; Neology Inc. of Carlsbad, California that makes radio frequency identification equipment; and TransCore L.P. of Nashville, Tennessee that collects tolls and identifies violations.
The New York State Thruway Authority uses E-ZPass on 570-miles of highways, according to the complaint. The Cuomo bridge – formerly the Tappan Zee Bridge – generates about $23 million a month in revenue.
Tolls are based on types of vehicles and distances traveled. Antenna identify radio signals emitted from transponders mounted in vehicles as they pass through toll plazas, enabling the owners’ prepaid E-ZPass accounts to be automatically deducted.
RJL says it owns 13 vehicles that routinely use the bridge, and it is enrolled in the Special Commuter Plan for frequent travelers. Instead of paying $11.81 per crossing, it pays $4.05.
But beginning in October 2022, RJL alleges, it began receiving inflated E-ZPass invoices. One month last year, a 6-axel truck incurred charges that exceeded the published rate by 30%.
The toll-collection equipment fails to correctly identify transponders and license plates, according to the complaint, and attributes tolls to the wrong vehicles. RJL says it has disputed incorrect charges and claims that E-ZPass vendors have conceded incorrect tolls. Yet, they continue to deduct incorrect amounts from the company’s E-ZPass account.
RJL is suing on behalf of all E-ZPass users who have allegedly been overbilled on New York roads, tunnels and bridges from 2016 to the present. It accused the vendors of unjust enrichment, deception, false advertising, conversion of funds, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. It is demanding that the vendors disgorge ill-gotten gains derived from misconduct.
Spokespeople for Kapsch TrafficCom and Neology declined to comment. Conduent and TransCore did not reply to messages asking for their responses to the allegations.
RJL is represented by White Plains attorneys Andrea Farah and Radhika Gupta, of Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.
