BMV to pay $62M in second class-action settlement
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH ) — Some 5.5 million drivers in Indiana are in for another round of refunds from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
On Thursday, attorneys with the law firm Cohen and Malad announced a $62 million settlement for inaccurate charges for vehicle registration, license plate costs and more from 2002 through 2014.
The lawsuit settlement states that in 2013, when the last settlement was reached, the Indiana BMV didn’t disclose all the overcharges made to customers. In fact, attorneys say the $30 million payout was only about 30 percent of what was falsely charged to Hoosier drivers.
“This case is a textbook example of the way that our government works, the checks and balances that we all learned when we were in civics classes, ” said Irwin Levin, attorney for Cohen and Malad. “Because here the executive branch abused the citizenry, and it was the courts, the judicial branch, that was able to correct the problem. “
Levin said Hoosiers today are finally seeing justice.
“I am proud to announce perhaps the most successful demonstration of what Hoosiers can do when they come together to confront government misconduct through the courts, and to hold government accountable,” he said.
BMV representatives have said in the past that human error and a complex billing system were to blame for the financial situation.
After the first round of refunds back in 2013 that covered driver’s licenses charges for more than a decade, attorneys said they kept digging and outlined more than 100 additional overcharges. Those including some that were still in effect in 2013.
“The BMV and government created the system but what’s really sort of disturbing is in the evidence of trial,” said Levin, “when they found out the BMV were overcharging going back to 2003, never changed it.”
So today, the BMV has settled for an additional $62 million for hundreds of other mischarges covering from 2002 to 2014. This second settlement brings the total BMV payout to around $100 million.
Lawyers estimate the average driver should see between $1 and $50 each, depending on size of family and number of vehicles.
Hoosiers we spoke to said if they received a check, they’d spend it fast.
“Bills. Definitely bills,” said Ashley Hack, 27.
“I’m going to spend it well,” said Juanita Cole, who says she’s been an Indiana driver her whole adult life. “I might go to the casino.”
“I’d probably take my granddaughter out for dinner,” said Joanna Davey, a 55-year Indiana driver.
But as for if Hoosiers still trust the BMV, the jury is out.
“I sure don’t,” Cole said. “I just came from in there but I sure don’t.”
“A lot of places mischarge people,” Hack said. “So it’s going to happen.”
So the question of the day: How do you get your money?
If you were an Indiana driver in the time from 2002 to 2006, you must go online and fill out a form reporting that information in order to get a refund.
Drivers in years 2006 through 2014 simply need to go online and claim their refund, which just like last time, will go to their BMV account as a credit or come as a check in the mail.