WASHINGTON – Your identity could be at risk when you get a parking ticket. And now a federal appeals court has cleared the way for a privacy lawsuit involving those pesky fines.
When motorists are ticketed in the Chicago suburb of Palatine, Ill., the ticket includes the vehicle owner’s name, address, date of birth, sex, height, weight and driver’s license number.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has advanced a class action lawsuit against Palatine for violating the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, Wired reports.
The law authored by Northern Virginia Rep. Jim Moran prohibits disclosure of personal information from state motor vehicle records.
The law was passed in the early 1990’s following the murder of actress Rebecca Schaffer. She was killed by a stalker who obtained her home address through the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.
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