A woman has finally reached a deal to pay off the $106,000 worth of parking tickets that she owes the city of Chicago. Jennifer Fitzgerald can finally rest now that the city has agreed to reduce her debt to $4,470, though that's still nothing to scoff at. Over a two-year period, a car registered in Fitzgerald's name received 678 tickets—a record.
Fitzgerald's ticket trouble began when ex-boyfriend Brandon Preveau left the car—registered in her name—at Chicago's O'Hare Airport back in 2009. Fitzgerald says she was unable to get to the vehicle, so it sat at O'Hare, racking up tickets before finally being towed last April.
The unemployed single mother was unable to pay the fines, and worse, her driver's license was suspended because of the tickets. Enter Robin Omahana to rescue her. "It was a nightmare for her until I got involved," he told DNAinfo Chicago. "Before I filed the lawsuit, the city would not budge off the $106,000. They were taking a hard line."
Omahana and Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against the city arguing that Preveau purchased the car from Fitzgerald's uncle in 2008 and registered it under her name without her knowing. That makes Preveau the car's owner, he said. He also argued that the vehicle should've been towed earlier, making only some of the 678 tickets legitimate.
Under the agreement, Preveau will have to pay a $1,600 downpayment to kick off the payment plan and Fitzgerald will have to pay $78 per month over the next three years. That's much better than being expected to pay a six figure debt with no job.
[via DNAinfo Chicago]
